Pattern Size Research Articles

Outcomes of transarterial chemoembolization in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A tertiary center experience.

To assess the overall survival in patients with intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma following transarterial chemoembolization. It is a retrospective descriptive study carried out in the Department of Radiology of Liaquat National Hospital Karachi, Pakistan. Seventy-two patients were enrolled from July 2014 to December 2021 and had chemoembolization therapy. Patients were followed till their demise. Mean and Median survivals were calculated. A total of 72 patients had a median survival of 15 months with 95% confidence interval (11 months was lower bound and 18 months was upper bound), 19 months was the mean survival time with 95% confidence interval (14.7 months was lower limit and 22.6 months the upper limit). The factors which had a significant impact on the median survival time were Child-Pugh classification, average size of tumor and embolization pattern. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) increases the median survival time effectively and safely in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. However complete resolution of disease is not possible with TACE, with most patient eventually succumbing to the disease. The overall survival for TACE in this study correlates well with other studies. Child Pugh Class, tumor size and embolization pattern have significant effect on survival of patients.

Pharyngeal width comparison in different skeletal malocclusions and growth patterns of Nepalese population

Context: Regarding the relationship between the size of the pharynx and several sagittal skeletal malocclusions and patterns of growth, contradictory findings have been documented. Aims: The intent of this research was to analyze the size of the pharynx in various sagittal malocclusions and growth patterns in the Nepalese population. Settings and Design: An analytic cross-sectional research was undertaken on patients who attended the Orthodontics Division of BPKIHS. Materials and Methods: A total of 135 patients’ lateral cephalometric radiographs were gathered. Medians and interquartile ranges of pharyngeal widths according to McNamara airway analysis and Arnett/Gunson FAB airway analysis adapted by Santiago et al. in different skeletal malocclusions and growth patterns were compared. Results: There was not any discernible statistically noteworthy variation within the upper pharynx size, lower pharyngeal width, nasopharyngeal width (WNP), oropharyngeal width, hypopharyngeal width (WHP), and deep pharyngeal width (WDP) in different skeletal malocclusions. A statistically significant variation was discovered in nasopharyngeal size (P = 0.010), hypopharyngeal size (P = 0.027), and deep pharyngeal size (P < 0.001) in various patterns of growth, i.e. hypodivergent versus normodivergent, and in hypodivergent versus hyperdivergent, not in normodivergent versus hyperdivergent group of patients. Conclusion: There was not anything statistically noteworthy variation in the pharyngeal widths of the participants with respect to the various skeletal malocclusions. WNP, WHP, and WDP showed a statistically significant variation between hypodivergent versus normodivergent and hypodivergent versus hyperdivergent growth patterns.

High-Temperature DIC Deformation Measurement under High-Intensity Blackbody Radiation

During the high-speed flight of a vehicle in the atmosphere, surface friction with the air generates aerodynamic heating. The aerodynamic heating phenomenon can create extremely high temperatures near the surface. These high temperatures impact material properties and the structure of the aircraft, so thermal deformation measurement is essential in aerospace engineering. This paper revisits high-temperature deformation measurement using the digital image correlation (DIC) technique under high-intensity blackbody radiation with a precise speckle pattern fabrication and a heat haze reduction method. The effects of the speckle pattern on the DIC measurement have been thoroughly studied at room temperature, but high-temperature measurement studies have not reported such effects so far. We found that the commonly used methods to reduce the heat haze effect could produce incorrect results. Hence, we propose a new method to mitigate heat haze effects. An infrared radiation heater was employed to make an experimental setup that could heat a specimen up to 950 °C. First, we mitigated image saturation using a short-wavelength bandpass filter with blue light illumination, a standard procedure for high-temperature DIC deformation measurement. Second, we studied how to determine the proper size of the speckle pattern in a high-temperature environment. Third, we devised a reduction method for the heat haze effect. As proof of the effectiveness of our developed experimental method, we successfully measured the deformation of stainless steel 304 specimens from 25 °C to 800 °C. The results confirmed that this method can be applied to the research and development of thermal protection systems in the aerospace field.

Subclinical patterns of disordered eating behaviors in the daily life of adolescents and young adults from the general population

BackgroundDisordered eating behaviors (DEBs), a risk factor for the development of eating disorders (EDs), are prevalent in young people and different DEBs frequently co-occur. Previous studies on DEB-patterns have largely used traditional retrospective questionnaires to assess DEBs. In addition, most previous studies did not specifically exclude individuals with clinical EDs, which limits current knowledge concerning purely subclinical patterns of DEBs. In the present study, we aimed to explore phenotypes and group sizes of subclinical patterns of DEBs reported in everyday life via smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in adolescents and young adults from the general population without lifetime EDs. In secondary analyses, we further aimed to investigate whether DEB-patterns would be associated with additional previously identified risk factors for ED-development.MethodsEMA was conducted in a community sample of 14–21-year-olds from Dresden, Germany, over four days for up to eight times a day and covered engagement in four DEBs: skipping eating, restrained eating, eating large amounts of food, and loss-of-control eating. Data were analyzed from N = 966 individuals without lifetime EDs with an EMA compliance rate of at least 50% (81.9% of the total sample; average compliance: 84.6%). Latent profile analyses were performed to identify subclinical patterns of DEBs, stratified by sex. Associations between symptomatic profiles and ED-risk factors were tested via regression analyses.ResultsBased on theoretical deliberations, statistical indices, interpretability, and parsimony, a three-profile solution, namely no DEBs, high-mixed DEBs, and low-mixed DEBs, was selected for both sexes. Both symptomatic profiles in both sexes were associated with more unfavorable manifestations in additional ED risk factors compared to the no DEBs profile, with the highest number of associations being observed in the female high-mixed profile.ConclusionsThe present findings suggest that problematic manifestations of DEBs in young people may occur even in the absence of an ED diagnosis and that they are associated with additional risk factors for EDs, warranting increased efforts in targeted prevention, early identification and intervention in order to counteract symptom progression.

Experimental Investigation and Theoretical Analysis of Flame Spread Dynamics over Discrete Thermally Thin Fuels with Various Inclination Angles and Gap Sizes

Flame spread over discrete fuels is a typical phenomenon in fire scenes. Experimental and theoretical research on flame spread over discrete thermally thin fuels separated by air gaps with different inclination angles was conducted in the present study. Experiments with six inclination angles ranging from 0° to 85° and various fuel coverage rates from 0.421 to 1 were designed. The flame spread behavior, the characteristic flame size, and the flame spread rate were analyzed. The results show that the flow pattern, stability, and flame size exhibit different characteristics with different inclination angles and gap sizes. As the inclination angle increases, particularly with smaller gaps, turbulent and oscillating flames are observed, while larger gap sizes promote flame stability. The mechanism of flame propagation across the gap depends on the interplay between the flame jump effect and heat transfer, which evolves with gap size. Average flame height, average flame width, and flame spread rate initially increase and then decline with the increase in fuel coverage, peaking at fuel coverage rates between 0.93 and 0.571 for different inclination angles. A theoretical model is proposed to predict the flame spread rate and the variation in the flame spread rate with inclination angle and fuel coverage. Furthermore, the map determined by inclination angle and fuel coverage is partitioned into distinct regions, comprising the accelerated flame spread region, the flame spread weakening region, and the failed flame spread region. These findings provide valuable insights into flame spread dynamics over discrete thermally thin fuels under diverse conditions.

Aerosol deposition of dense alumina coatings on micropillar-patterned Si substrates

Fabricating dense ceramic layers without cracks is challenging, especially on structured surfaces and under low process temperatures. Aerosol deposition (AD) is a promising technique for producing dense ceramic coatings at room temperature. Film formation on smooth and flat substrates by AD has been explored in the field, but deposition on patterned surfaces was rarely studied. In this work, we describe dense alumina coatings deposited on flat and micropatterned silicon substrates using AD. We demonstrate that the patterned substrates with 1–2 μm pillars can reduce or eliminate the formation of horizontal micro-cracks in the coatings. The impact of pillar walls on coating quality and deposition rate diminishes when the pattern size exceeds the powder agglomerate size. The deposited layers cover the substrate patterns completely and give uniform coating surfaces, which opens the way for AD in applications such as hole-filing and 3D micro-energy devices.

Formation of convective roll patterns over a longitudinal throughflow in an active inhomogeneous porous medium with weak clogging

The convective stability of a plane-parallel longitudinal throughflow in a system consisting of two porous sublayers with distinct permeability is studied taking into account the weak pore clogging effect and given a finite difference in concentration between the upper and lower boundaries of the system. A system of differential equations for convection is derived within the framework of the continuum approach and the nonlinear MIM model. A linear stability analysis of the basic longitudinal flow is carried out. The boundary value problem is solved using the numerical technique for constructing a fundamental system of solutions. The neutral stability curves of the basic flow with respect to the disturbances in the form of rolls with different wavelength are obtained. For the absence of pore clogging, the convective stability maps of the critical solutal Rayleigh-Darcy number versus the permeability ratio for the initial uncontaminated sublayers, as well as the plots of the critical disturbance frequency and wave number versus the permeability ratio for some values of the Peclet number, are constructed. It is shown that these results have symmetry with respect to the solution for equal initial permeability of sublayers. The clogging effect associated with the solute adsorption and desorption in a porous medium is studied in the two-layered systems with the values 0.1 and 10 of the ratio of initial permeabilities of the sublayers; convection localization occurs in distinct sublayers. It was found that clogging increases the stability of the longitudinal basic flow relative to solutal inhomogeneity and breaks the symmetry of solutions with respect to the case when the two-layered system is reduced to a single layer with the same filtration properties of the porous medium throughout its volume. The influence of sorption effects on the critical parameters of oscillatory convection is investigated by plotting the critical solutal Rayleigh-Darcy number, disturbance frequency and wave number against the adsorption coefficient at fixed values of the desorption coefficient. The isolines of the stream function are constructed to analyze convective flow patterns. It was established that there is a weak relationship between the typical size of local convective roll patterns and the clogging parameters. It is shown that the sorption processes, which can lead to clogging, have a significant impact on the velocity of convective rolls moving along the two-layered system at a slight variation in their sizes.

A biosensor method based on surfactant-mediated surface droplet evaporation for the detection of Aflatoxin B1

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a common mycotoxin that is of significant global concern due to its impact on food safety. Herein, we innovatively develop a sensing platform to detect AFB1 based on evaporation of surfactant solutions on the hydrophobic surface, resulting in dried patterns with varied sizes. The surfactant CTAB solution produces a relatively large dried pattern due to the surface wetting. However, the reduction in the dried pattern size is found when the mixture of CTAB and AFB1 aptamer is tested, because the formation of CTAB/aptamer complex. Moreover, the dried pattern size of the mixture of CTAB, aptamer, and AFB1 increases due to the specific binding of AFB1 to its aptamer. Using this innovative strategy, the AFB1 detection can be fulfilled with a detection limit of 0.77 pg/mL. As a simple, convenient, inexpensive, and label-free method, the surfactant-mediated surface droplet evaporation-based biosensor is very promising for various potential applications.

Simulations of novel mixed-patterned membrane surfaces: Enhanced hydrodynamics and concentration polarization to mitigate fouling in water treatment

The accumulation of particles and salt ions on the membrane surface is the main challenge in different water treatment applications, such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and nanofiltration (NF), undesirably affecting the membrane's water permeance and salt rejection. This study used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to investigate novel mixed triangular-rectangular (mixed tri-rec) shaped patterned membrane surfaces toward reducing membrane fouling and increasing water flux. These outcomes were compared with previously reported flat, triangular (tri), and rectangular (rec) patterned surfaces. The fluid flow behavior and transport of diluted species under laminar flow conditions were investigated in the vicinity of different patterned membrane surfaces. Parameters such as diffusion coefficient, pressure difference across the membrane, and feed solute concentration remained fixed during the investigation. The key parameters evaluated were the velocity streamline profile, shear stress, concentration polarization (CP), and permeate flux (PF). The overall wall shear stress (OWSS) and local wall shear stress (LWSS) were also evaluated, and unobvious behavior was observed in both cases. Also, interesting behavior emerged when the averaged CP and PF were analyzed as a function of varying crossflow velocities. Further, the results indicate that pattern geometry significantly affects the PF. Additional simulations varying pattern sizes parametrically were performed, and the influence of pattern size ratio on CP, PF, and consequently, boundary layer thickness was investigated. Overall, this study presents a new understanding of fouling mitigation and enhanced permeate flux while comparing a novel mixed tri-rec-shaped membrane surface with previously reported homogeneous patterned surfaces.

Assessment of drainage vein of focal nodular hyperplasia using contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Identification of drainage vessels is useful for differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors. Direct drainage to the hepatic vein has been reported to occur in focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), but studies evaluating the drainage veins of FNH are limited. We aimed to investigate the detection rate of the FNH drainage vein and the factors related to visualization of the drainage vein on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Fifty consecutive patients with 50 FNH lesions were retrospectively evaluated in this study. We calculated and compared the detection rate of the FNH drainage vein on CEUS, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMRI), and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT), and identified the factors correlated with visualization of the FNH drainage vein on CEUS by using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Visualization of the drainage vein was confirmed in 31 of 50 lesions (62%) using CEUS, three of 44 lesions (6.8%) using CEMRI, and one of 18 lesions (5.6%) using CECT. The detection rate of the FNH drainage vein on CEUS was significantly higher than that on CEMRI and CECT (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified lesion size (≥ 25mm) and detection of the spoke-wheel pattern on Doppler US as independent factors for drainage vein detection in FNH. Our study showed that rapid FNH drainage to the hepatic vein was observed at a relatively high rate on CEUS, suggesting that CEUS focusing on detection of drainage veins is important for diagnosing FNH.

Manipulating Stem Cell Fate with Disordered Bioactive Cues on Surfaces: The Role of Bioactive Ligand Selection.

The development of 2D or 3D bioactive platforms for rapidly isolating pure populations of cells from adult stem cells holds promise for advancing the understanding of cellular mechanisms, drug testing, and tissue engineering. Over the years, methods have emerged to synthesize bioactive micro- and nanostructured 2D materials capable of directing stem cell fate. We introduce a novel method for randomly micro- or nanopatterning any protein/peptide onto both 2D and 3D scaffolds via spray technology. Our goal is to investigate the impact of arranging bioactive micropatterns (ordered vs disordered) on surfaces to guide human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) differentiation. The spray technology efficiently coats materials with controlled, cost-effective bioactive micropatterns in various sizes and shapes. BMP-2 mimetic peptides were covalently grafted, individually or in combination with RGD peptides, onto activated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surfaces through a spraying process, incorporating nano/microscale parameters like size, shape, and composition. The study explores different peptide distributions on surfaces and various peptide combinations. Four surfaces were homogeneously functionalized with these peptides (M1 to M4 with various densities of peptides), and six surfaces with disordered micro- and nanopatterns of peptides (S0 to S5 with different sizes of peptide patterns) were synthesized. Fluorescence microscopy assessed peptide distribution, followed by hMSC culture for 2 weeks, and evaluated osteogenic differentiation via immunocytochemistry and RT-qPCR for osteoblast and osteocyte markers. Cells on uniformly peptide-functionalized surfaces exhibited cuboidal forms, while those on surfaces with disordered patterns tended toward columnar or cuboidal shapes. Surfaces S4 and S5 showed dendrite-like formations resembling an osteocyte morphology. S5 showed significant overexpression of osteoblast (OPN) and osteocyte markers (E11, DMP1, and SOST) compared to control surfaces and other micropatterned surfaces. Notably, despite sharing an equivalent quantity of peptides with a homogeneous functionalized surface, S5 displayed a distinct distribution of peptides, resulting in enhanced osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs.

Fabrication and bonding of In bumps on Micro-LED with 8 μm pixel pitch

Indium (In) is currently used to fabricate metal bumps on micro-light-emitting diode (Micro-LED) chips due to its excellent physical properties. However, as Micro-LED pixel size and pitch decrease, achieving high-quality In bumps on densely packed Micro-LED chips often presents more challenges. This paper describes the process of fabricating In bumps on micro-LEDs using thermal evaporation, highlighting an issue where In tends to grow laterally within the photoresist pattern, ultimately blocking the pattern and resulting in undersized and poorly dense In bumps on the Micro-LED chip. To address this issue, we conducted numerous experiments to study the height variation of In bumps within a range of photoresist aperture sizes (3 μm −7 μm) under two different resist thickness conditions (3.8 μm and 4.8 μm). The results showed that the resist thickness had a certain effect on the height of In bumps on the Micro-LED chip electrodes. Moreover, we found that, with the photoresist pattern size increasing under constant resist thickness conditions, the height and quality of the bumps significantly improved. Based on this finding, we rationalized the adjustment of the photoresist pattern size within a limited emission platform range to compensate for the height difference of In bumps caused by different resist thicknesses between the cathode and anode regions. Consequently, well-shaped and dense In bumps with a maximum height of up to 4.4 μm were fabricated on 8 μm pitch Micro-LED chips. Afterwards, we bonded the Micro-LED chip with indium bumps to the CMOS chip, and we found that we could successfully control the CMOS chip to drive the Micro-LED chip to display specific characters through the Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC). This work is of significant importance for the fabrication of In bumps on Micro-LED chips with pitches below 10 μm and subsequent bonding processes.

Explicit and Implicit Pattern Relation Analysis for Discovering Actionable Negative Sequences.

Real-life events, behaviors, and interactions produce sequential data. An important but rarely explored problem is to analyze those nonoccurring (also called negative) yet important sequences, forming negative sequence analysis (NSA). A typical NSA area is to discover negative sequential patterns (NSPs) consisting of important nonoccurring and occurring elements and patterns. The limited existing work on NSP mining relies on frequentist and downward closure property-based pattern selection, producing large and highly redundant NSPs, nonactionable for business decision-making. This work makes the first attempt for actionable NSP discovery. It builds an NSP graph representation, quantifies both explicit occurrence and implicit nonoccurrence-based element and pattern relations, and then discovers significant, diverse, and informative NSPs in the NSP graph to represent the entire NSP set for discovering actionable NSPs. A DPP-based NSP representation and actionable NSP discovery method, EINSP, introduces novel and significant contributions to NSA and sequence analysis: 1) it represents NSPs by a determinantal point process (DPP)-based graph; 2) it quantifies actionable NSPs in terms of their statistical significance, diversity, and strength of explicit/implicit element/pattern relations; and 3) it models and measures both explicit and implicit element/pattern relations in the DPP-based NSP graph to represent direct and indirect couplings between NSP items, elements, and patterns. We substantially analyze the effectiveness of EINSP in terms of various theoretical and empirical aspects, including complexity, item/pattern coverage, pattern size and diversity, implicit pattern relation strength, and data factors.

Area-selective atomic layer deposition on 2D monolayer lateral superlattices

The advanced patterning process is the basis of integration technology to realize the development of next-generation high-speed, low-power consumption devices. Recently, area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD), which allows the direct deposition of target materials on the desired area using a deposition barrier, has emerged as an alternative patterning process. However, the AS-ALD process remains challenging to use for the improvement of patterning resolution and selectivity. In this study, we report a superlattice-based AS-ALD (SAS-ALD) process using a two-dimensional (2D) MoS2-MoSe2 lateral superlattice as a pre-defining template. We achieved a minimum half pitch size of a sub-10 nm scale for the resulting AS-ALD on the 2D superlattice template by controlling the duration time of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursors. SAS-ALD introduces a mechanism that enables selectivity through the adsorption and diffusion processes of ALD precursors, distinctly different from conventional AS-ALD method. This technique facilitates selective deposition even on small pattern sizes and is compatible with the use of highly reactive precursors like trimethyl aluminum. Moreover, it allows for the selective deposition of a variety of materials, including Al2O3, HfO2, Ru, Te, and Sb2Se3.

Pattern-dependent resistivity variations in inkjet-printed conductors due to non-uniform ink drying

When fabricating inkjet-printed electronic devices and circuits, inkjet-printed conductive materials require drying and sintering to improve electrical conductivity. Electrical conductivity should be the same irrespective of pattern design, size, location, or density of adjacent patterns. However, we demonstrate that spatial variations in the drying process for inkjet-printed patterns with proximity to others cause resistivity variations. These resistivity variations are studied here experimentally for different circuit patterns and in arrays of inkjet-printed square electrodes. This variation depends not only on the location of each electrode in an array but also on the number of electrodes. This means that for the same drying temperature and duration, the array with a larger number of electrodes exhibits a larger resistivity variation. The sooner an electrode dries, the lower resistivity it achieves. The resistivity variation between an individual electrode and the center electrode in a 7 × 7 electrode array can be a factor of seven. This variation decreases for lower numbers of electrodes to a factor of three for a 3 × 3 array. Furthermore, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses provide evidence for the residual presence of carbon-based materials within electrodes after the drying process. These results confirm that the location of electrodes within an array significantly influences the amount of residual carbon-based materials, thereby contributing to resistivity variations. Although intense pulsed light sintering can decrease this variation, its optimal parameters depend on the printed designs, and our simulation results show a non-uniform temperature profile over the electrode arrays. Temperature increases more at the center of patterns than the corners, which can be useful in this case to improve resistivity uniformity. In this study, for the first time, we show how different printed shapes and designs can result in non-uniform resistivity after drying and sintering.

Enhanced boiling heat transfer performance on wettability-patterned surface

As an efficient heat transfer method, boiling heat transfer (BHT) plays an important role in strengthening the thermal management of high-power electronics, etc. In this work, the wettability patterns are prepared on copper substrate by mask-assisted chemical processing method, which enhances the BHT performance. We firstly treat the copper surface into superhydrophilic by chemical immersion, and then it is modified by fluorosilane into superhydrophobic, and wettability patterns are formed with the assistance of mask. Then, the BHT performances and the corresponding bubble dynamics of the wettability-patterned surfaces are experimentally investigated. Finally, the optimal BHT performances of the wettability-patterned surface prepared by the proposed method are compared with other modified surfaces. The results show that the BHT is improved dramatically on the wettability-patterned surface, the critical heat flux (CHF) and the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) improve by 23% and 56%, respectively. Under high heat flux, the decrease of hydrophobic pattern size can significantly improve the BHT performances, while under low heat flux, reducing the hydrophobic pattern pitch can improve the BHT performances to a certain extent. The reduction of the hydrophobic area has a significant effect on the CHF and HTC.

Analyzing Size of Loss Frequency Distribution Patterns: Uncovering the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study delves into a critical examination of the Size of Loss distribution patterns in the context of auto insurance during pre- and post-pandemics, emphasizing their profound influence on insurance pricing and regulatory frameworks. Through a comprehensive analysis of the historical Size of Loss data, insurers and regulators gain essential insights into the probabilities and magnitudes of insurance claims, informing the determination of precise insurance premiums and the management of case reserving. This approach aids in fostering fair competition, ensuring equitable premium rates, and preventing discriminatory pricing practices, thereby promoting a balanced insurance landscape. The research further investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these Size of Loss patterns, given the substantial shifts in driving behaviours and risk landscapes. Also, the research contributes to the literature by addressing the need for more studies focusing on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on pre- and post-pandemic auto insurance loss patterns, thus offering a holistic perspective encompassing both insurance pricing and regulatory dimensions.

Developmental characteristics of the permanent upper lateral incisor in unilateral cleft lip and palate

ObjectivesThis study aims to provide insights into the developmental characteristics of the upper lateral incisor in individuals with unilateral clefts.Materials and methodsPanoramic radiographs of a consistent group of Caucasian children taken over time (ages 6, 9, and 12) were extensively reviewed. The study assessed the distribution pattern, eruption path, tooth development, and crown size of the upper lateral incisor within the cleft region.ResultsThe most commonly observed distribution pattern was the lateral incisor located distal to the cleft, accounting for 49.2% of cases. Furthermore, a significant delay in tooth development of the upper lateral incisor on the cleft side was noted at ages 6 and 9 (p > 0.001). Compared with the non-cleft side, these incisors often erupted along the alveolar cleft and exhibited microdontia (88.3%, p < 0.041).ConclusionLateral incisors on the cleft side display unique distribution patterns, microdontia, and delayed tooth development. Careful monitoring of the cuspid eruption is essential, as it can influence the eruption of the lateral incisor.Clinical relevanceA comprehensive understanding of the development of the upper lateral incisor relative to the cleft is vital for determining its prognosis over time. The position of the upper lateral incisor can also influence the timing and prognosis of secondary alveolar bone grafting. Preserving the upper lateral incisor favors arch length, perimeter, and symmetry in individuals with unilateral clefts.

Laser‐Induced Shockwaves as a Rapid and Non‐Contact Technique for 2D Patterning of Colloidal Monolayer Crystals

AbstractA novel approach is reported that harnesses laser‐induced shockwave spallation technique to selectively remove clusters of polystyrene (PS) microspheres from close‐packed monolayers for the creation of 2D colloidal micropatterns. The strategic design of the layer structure by incorporating a thin layer of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on top of the PS monolayer enables the complete delamination of PS particle clusters. Its use is demonstrated for creating different sizes of circular microscale spallation patterns by regulating the tensile force of the shockwave with laser fluence adjustments. To further control the diameter of the spallation pattern, various shadow masks are utilized to tune the shockwave generation region. The finding reveals that both PVA thickness and spallation force play key roles in adjusting cluster spallation size with complete removal. The study highlights the potential of laser spallation techniques as a rapid and non‐contact method for 2D colloidal crystal patterning by leveraging spatially regulated shockwave spallation forces.

Effects of mowing on body size patterns in spider assemblages of mesic meadows.

Habitat disturbance affects not only the abundance, species richness and species composition of the local fauna, but also the body size of specific individuals and body size patterns in animal assemblages. Particularly large disturbances occur in agroecosystems, where many agricultural treatments are carried out. One of them, which is most commonly applied to grasslands and which significantly damages the habitat structure, is mowing. We examined the effect of mowing on mean, skewness and kurtosis of the body size in epigeic spider assemblages. The research was conducted on mesic meadows in eastern Poland, in an agricultural landscape typical for this region, consisting of a mosaic of meadows, fields and forests. Spiders were collected using pitfall traps in two sampling periods: the first before mowing and the second when part of the meadows had been mown. Mowing had no significant effect on mean body size, skewness and kurtosis of the body size in epigeic spider assemblages. However, after the cut, mown plots showed, on average, significantly smaller spider species than unmown plots. Both the value of skewness and kurtosis significantly increased after mowing but to the same extent on both the control and mown plots. The decrease in mean body size and increase in skewness in spider assemblages were mainly due to an increase in the number of small species from the Linyphiidae family. It is likely that these species began to migrate (via ballooning) during the second sampling session, following the start of haying, and were thus caught in traps more frequently. Our study showed no clear, significant changes in the body size structure of epigeic spiders in mown meadows compared to unmown ones, which may suggest that the mowing, where extensive farming is practised, does not have a long-term significant negative impact on this group of invertebrates.