Three-dimensional Analytical Model Research Articles

Skin programming of inflammatory responses to Staphylococcus aureus is compartmentalized according to epidermal keratinocyte differentiation status.

Acute cutaneous inflammation causes microbiome alterations as well as ultrastructural changes in epidermis stratification. However, the interactions between keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation status and the skin microbiome have not been fully explored. Hypothesizing that the skin microbiome contributes to regulation of keratinocyte differentiation and can modify antimicrobial responses, we examined the effect of exposure to commensal (Staphylococcus epidermidis, SE) or pathogenic (Staphylococcus aureus, SA) challenge on epidermal models. Explant biopsies were taken to investigate species-specific antimicrobial effects of host factors. Further investigations were performed in reconstituted epidermal models by bulk transcriptomic analysis alongside secreted protein profiling. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis was performed to explore the keratinocyte populations responsible for SA inflammation. A dataset of 6391 keratinocytes from control (2044 cells), SE challenge (2028 cells) and SA challenge (2319 cells) was generated from reconstituted epidermal models. Bacterial lawns of SA, not SE, were inhibited by human skin explant samples, and microarray analysis of three-dimensional epidermis models showed that host antimicrobial peptide expression was induced by SE but not SA. Protein analysis of bacterial cocultured models showed that SA exposure induced inflammatory mediator expression, indicating keratinocyte activation of other epidermal immune populations. Single-cell DropSeq analysis of unchallenged naive, SE-challenged and SA-challenged epidermis models was undertaken to distinguish cells from basal, spinous and granular layers, and to interrogate them in relation to model exposure. In contrast to SE, SA specifically induced a subpopulation of spinous cells that highly expressed transcripts related to epidermal inflammation and antimicrobial response. Furthermore, SA, but not SE, specifically induced a basal population that highly expressed interleukin-1 alarmins. These findings suggest that SA-associated remodelling of the epidermis is compartmentalized to different keratinocyte populations. Elucidating the mechanisms regulating bacterial sensing-triggered inflammatory responses within tissues will enable further understanding of microbiome dysbiosis and inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic eczema.

Numerical study on the influence of geometric parameters on mechanical properties of Tapered Head Grouted Sleeve joints

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the Tapered Head Grouted Sleeve (THS) joints and reduce its impact on prefabricated components, three-dimensional numerical analysis models were established based on the large-scale general finite element analysis software ABAQUS. On the basis of verifying the validity of the model, numerical uniaxial tensile tests were carried out on THS joints of different sizes, this research mainly considered the influences of the diameter and embedded length of the bar and the diameter, angle and length of the sleeve on the connection performance and strain characteristics of the THS joints, and a theoretical model for the tensile strength of THS joints was proposed. In addition, based on the numerical tensile test results of THS joints with different parameters, the concept of diameter-angle ratio (ζ) suitable for THS was established, and a simple calculation method was proposed to predict whether the connection of THS joint is effective. The results illustrated that: THS joint embedded length should be at least 6 times the diameter of the bar; Increasing the embedded length or reducing the sleeve diameter are beneficial to reduce the tensile strain of the sleeve; The calculated results of the theoretical model were in good agreement with the numerical results; When the minimum embedding length is satisfied, the range of diameter-angle ratio that the THS joint need to meet is 0.52≤ζd≤0.63.

MRI changes of adjacent segments after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and foraminal endoscopy: A case-control study.

Background:Intervertebral foramen endoscopy has developed rapidly, but compared with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), the progress of degeneration is unknown. We aim to compare the changes of intervertebral disc and intervertebral foramen in adjacent segments after TLIF and endoscopic discectomy for patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).Methods:From 2014 to 2017, 87 patients who were diagnosed with single-level LDH and received surgery of TLIF (group T, n = 43) or endoscopic discectomy (group F, n = 44) were retrospectively analyzed. X-ray, MRI, CT and clinical symptoms were recorded before operation and at the last follow-up (FU). The neurological function was originally evaluated by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores. Radiological evaluation included the height of intervertebral space (HIS), intervertebral foramen height (FH), intervertebral foramen area (FA), lumbar lordosis (CA) and intervertebral disc degeneration Pfirrmann scores.Results:There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics, JOA improvement rate, reoperation rate and complications between the two groups. The age, average blood loss, average hospital stays and average operation time in group F were lower than those in group T. During the last FU, HIS, CA and FA decreased in both groups, and the changes in group T were more significant than those in group F (P < .05). There was no significant difference in FH changes between the two groups (P > .05).Conclusion:Both TLIF and endoscopic surgery can achieve good results in the treatment of LDH, but the risk of lumbar disc height loss and intervertebral foramina reduction in the adjacent segment after endoscopic surgery is lower.

Analysis of genetic variant in a patient with juvenile meterochromic leukodystrophy

To explore the genetic basis for a child with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). Clinical data of the patient was collected. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the child and his family members. Potential variant was screened by whole exome sequencing (WES), and candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing. The pathogenicity the variant was analyzed by multiple sequence alignment of the amino acid sequence and three-dimensional model prediction of its protein product. The child was found to harbor compound heterozygous variants c.257G>A (p.R86Q) and c.467del (p.G156Afs*6) of the ARSA gene, among which the c.467del (p.G156Afs*6) frameshift variation was unreported previously. Multiple sequence alignment showed that the site of the c.257G>A (p.R86Q) missense variant is highly conserved. Three-dimensional structure modeling analysis showed that the partial deletion due to the p.G156Afs*6 variant may cause significant alteration of the structure of ARSA protein. The discovery of novel variant in ARSA has enriched the mutational spectrum of MLD and may facilitate the understanding of the genotype-phenotype correlation of MLD.

A simple analytical model for a fast 3D assessment of peripheral photon dose during coplanar isocentric photon radiotherapy.

Considering that cancer survival rates have been growing and that nearly two-thirds of those survivors were exposed to clinical radiation during its treatment, the study of long-term radiation effects, especially secondary cancer induction, has become increasingly important. To correctly assess this risk, knowing the dose to out-of-field organs is essential. As it has been reported, commercial treatment planning systems do not accurately calculate the dose far away from the border of the field; analytical dose estimation models may help this purpose. In this work, the development and validation of a new three-dimensional (3D) analytical model to assess the photon peripheral dose during radiotherapy is presented. It needs only two treatment-specific input parameter values, plus information about the linac-specific leakage, when available. It is easy to use and generates 3D whole-body dose distributions and, particularly, the dose to out-of-field organs (as dose–volume histograms) outside the 5% isodose for any isocentric treatment using coplanar beams [including intensity modulated radiotherapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)]. The model was configured with the corresponding Monte Carlo simulation of the peripheral absorbed dose for a 6 MV abdomen treatment on the International Comission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 110 computational phantom. It was then validated with experimental measurements using thermoluminescent dosimeters in the male ATOM anthropomorphic phantom irradiated with a VMAT treatment for prostate cancer. Additionally, its performance was challenged by applying it to a lung radiotherapy treatment very different from the one used for training. The model agreed well with measurements and simulated dose values. A graphical user interface was developed as a first step to making this work more approachable to a daily clinical application.

Accuracy of Invisalign Progress Assessment with Clear Aligners: A Retrospective Study

Objective: The objective of this study was to detective the accuracy of model superimposition and automatic analysis for upper and lower dentition width in Invisalign Progress Assessment during the process of clear aligners. Methods 19 cases were included in this study. Pre-treatment dental cast(T0) and post-treatment dental cast after staged treatment(T1) were available for three-dimensional model superimposition. Subsequently, movements of maxillary teeth in horizontal plane (cross section) after staged treatment, width of upper and lower dentition were measured by three-dimensional model superimposition in real world and Invisalign Progress Assessment separately. Consequently, the data collected from these two methods was compared. Results In Invisalign Progress Assessment, movements of maxillary teeth in horizontal plane after staged treatment was 2.31（1.59,3.22 ） (median (upper quartile, lower quartile)) millimeter (mm), while in three-dimensional model superimposition, the result was 1.79（1.21,3.03）mm. The difference between two groups is significant(P＜0.05). Intercanine width upper, intermolar width upper, intercanine width lower, and intermolar width lower were 36.55±2.76mm, 56.98±2.62mm, 28.16±1.85mm, 53.21±2.72mm separately in Invisalign Progress Assessment and were 36.48±2.78mm, 56.89±2.58mm, 28.05±1.85mm, 53.16±2.64mm separately in three-dimensional model analysis, which were no significant difference among these groups (P＞0.05). Conclusions The data from Invisalign Progress Assessment was not in parallel with what achieved from model superimposition with palate as reference completely. The accuracy of model superimposition in Invisalign Progress Assessment needs further investigation, whereas the accuracy of model analysis in Invisalign Progress Assessment was accurate. Thereby, results from Invisalign Progress Assessment should be interpreted with caution by the orthodontist in clinic.

A Semianalytical Model for Three-Dimensional Stability Analysis of Potentially Rotational Slopes in Unsaturated Soils

A Semianalytical Model for Three-Dimensional Stability Analysis of Potentially Rotational Slopes in Unsaturated Soils

A new perspective on the relationship between anchorage and palatal morphology: Three-dimensional digital model analysis.

The tooth movements were generally analyzed in two dimensions on cephalometric radiographs. Nowaday, 3D digital model analysis, which does not have any harmful effects on patients, can be used to evaluate the palatal morphology and coronal tooth movements in a very comfortable and easy way. To investigate the effect of palatal morphology on anchorage reinforcement during intraoral molar distalization with pendulum appliance using 3D model analysis. The material consisted of before (T0) and after (T1) dental plaster models of Class II malocclusion patients (17 females, 3 males) treated with pendulum appliance for molar distalization and Nance appliance for anchorage. T0 and T1 digital models were superimposed using the palatal area as a reference via three points and surface-matching software, and the changes in teeth movement were calculated for left and right central incisors, first premolars, and first and second molars. Palatal morphology was evaluated at T0 on digital models as palatal inclination, palatal depth angles, and anterior hard palate area. Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the treatment results and Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between palatal morphology and dental movement. The upper limit for the level of significance was taken as 0.05. Mesial movement of first premolars and distal movement of first and second molars were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). A weak negative correlation was found between the palatal inclination and the movement of first premolars (P < 0.045 and P < 0.003). Palatal depth angles and anterior hard palate area had no correlation with dental movements. Presented results supported that the mesial movement of premolar teeth decreased as the inclination of the palate increased.

Three-Dimensional Modeling and Kinematic Analysis of Human Elbow Joint Axis Based on Anatomy and Screw Theory

Ensuring the motion consistency of human and exoskeletons is the key to the research of wearable exoskeleton robots. However, as the complexity of the coupling of sliding and rolling motion in human joint tissue, it is hard to depict the dynamic states of the joint axis. Exploring the changed human joint axis can be significant in the process of studying the bionic joint of the exoskeleton robots. We proposed a method to build the biological joint model based on anatomy and used screw theory to explore the human biological joint axis on it. The humerus and ulna models were only reconstructed by scanning CT images of the elbow joint in any single position. According to anatomy, humerus trochlear and trochlear notch of models were tangent to build a movable elbow joint model. The screw theory was used to study the elbow joint axis based on the kinematic data of samples in the motion simulation of joint model. Comparing the motion between model and human experiment, the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\boldsymbol{R}^{\boldsymbol{2}}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> of the Euler angles were above 0.97, and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{RMSE}$</tex-math></inline-formula> were below 2.85, which showed the model following anatomical principles can reflect the human joints well. And the pattern that depicted joint axis travelled is similar to the shape of the Mobius Strip. This work provides a new method to study human joint axis, and the axis results provide references to the design of exoskeleton joints and bionic robots.

Modelling of demountable steel-concrete composite connections: Validation of finite element model and parametric study

A three-dimensional finite element modelling and parametric analysis of a composite connection having prefabricated concrete slabs and preload bolted shear connectors are presented in this study. The load-slip relationship for this type of shear connection subjected to monotonically loading with the effect of different parameters including bolted shear connector size, bolt grade, hole size in precast concrete slab and steel beam top flange, concrete strength, and bolt preloading force is studied by means of ABAQUS software. A finite element model of the composite connection considering the non-linearities of the geometry, interfaces between the components, and materials is developed and verified against the results of the experimental study. An extensive parametric study is conducted, and the influences of different parameters on the structural behaviour of demountable steel-concrete composite shear connection are discussed in detail. In addition, a comparison of the estimated values obtained from design equations proposed by current standards, including EC4 and AISC for headed stud shear connectors, and the design recommendations provided in other studies for bolted shear connectors are conducted. According to the calculation result, the accuracy of different design methods is evaluated. Finally, a regression analysis of the data produced by the FE analysis has been employed to propose a new design equation to determine the ultimate strengths for the post-installed preload bolt shear connectors. It is concluded that the ultimate shear load capacity values predicted by EC4 and AISC provisions for composite connections having prefabricated concrete slabs and preload bolted shear connectors found to be relatively less accurate but conservative.

Temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and source analysis of dissolved organic nitrogen in the surface sediment of the Caohai Lake, southwest China.

Caohai Lake is a typical natural lake-type karst plateau wetland, which is sensitive to environmental changes, and the release of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in sediment is a potential factor of nitrogen pollution in this lake. Therefore, we aimed to reveal the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and source analysis of DON in karst lake sediment. Surface sediment samples were collected from Caohai Lake in southwest China, and the sample locations were distributed across almost the entire wetland area, during both the wet and dry seasons. The DON content and fluorescence spectroscopy were determined and analysed using a three-dimensional fluorescence-parallel factor analysis (3DEEM-PARAFAC) model. The mean DON content in the sediment during the dry season (67.79 ± 42.96 mg/kg) was higher than that in the wet season (28.57 ± 20.97 mg/kg). There were four fluorescent components of DON in the sediment: C1 (tyrosine-like protein), C2 (terrestrial humus), C3 (tryptophan-like protein) and C4 (terrestrial humus). The DON in the surface sediment of Caohai Lake was influenced by terrestrial sources and biological activities. These findings help reveal the circulation mechanism of endogenous nitrogen in the lake and provide theoretical support for the prevention and control of nitrogen pollution in Caohai Lake.

Design of a compliant mechanism for a sternum prosthesis using the pseudo-rigid-body model

When a sternum prosthesis is implemented, it must allow the movement of the rib cage. The sternum prosthesis designs that have been developed are completely rigid, this aspect can present discomfort when breathing, as well as fixation problems between the prosthesis and the bone tissue. The aim of this work is to develop a flexible device that allows the movement of the rib cage during breathing. Compliant mechanism design was developed by using the pseudo-rigid body model (PRBM) starting from a 4-bar rigid mechanism. The flexible model was obtained by developing the methodology of replacement from rigid to flexible body. The results show the obtained parameters of the compliant mechanism and the three-dimensional model for subsequent numerical and experimental analysis.

Open wedge high tibial osteotomy does not decrease patellar height relative to femur: A three-dimensional computer model analysis

BackgroundPatellar height, which decreases after open wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO), has conventionally been assessed by tibial references using lateral radiographs of the knee; however, changes in the proximal tibia shape after OWHTO may affect this method. We aimed to evaluate the changes in patellar height position relative to the transepicondylar axis of the femur after OWHTO using in vivo three-dimensional (3D) computer models. MethodsFourteen patients who underwent 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 30° and 50° knee flexion before OWHTO and after hardware removal were included. 3D computer models of the knee were created from the MRI scans and superimposed over the images taken in each position using voxel-based registration. For patellar height evaluation, a patellar reference point was established at each flexion angle and the femoral condylar planes (FCP) were set, including the transepicondylar axis. The patellar center angle was defined as the angle between an FCP that included the top of the intercondylar notch and an FCP that included the patellar reference point. The patellar center angle was evaluated at 30° and 50° knee flexion before and after OWHTO. ResultsThe patellar center angle at 30° and 50° knee flexion did not significantly decrease after OWHTO, whereas the Caton-Deschamps index and Blackburne-Peel index based on tibia-referenced measurements significantly decreased postoperatively. ConclusionPatellar height position relative to the femur in the 3D computer model did not decrease after OWHTO, whereas tibia-referenced conventional radiographic measurements significantly decreased. When evaluating patellar height, characteristics of each parameter should be considered.

Stress evolution around a TBM tunnel in swelling clay shale over four years after excavation

The old Belchen tunnel tubes in the Swiss Jura Mountains were excavated with drill-and-blast in swellable sedimentary rocks, i.e., anhydrite-rich marls (Gipskeuper) and Opalinus Clay shale (OPA). Already during construction in the 1960s both rock formations caused substantial damage to the tunnel support through high swelling pressures and heave, and in later years the tubes had to be refurbished again. Important maintenance and repair prompted the construction of a new, third Belchen tunnel tube (2016–2021) with a tunnel-boring machine (TBM).In this study we present in-situ datasets acquired to investigate the stress evolution and controlling mechanisms over more than four years at a monitoring section located in a strongly faulted OPA section of the new Belchen tunnel tube. The main datasets include time series of total radial pressure, radial strain, rock water content, rock and concrete temperatures, as well as details of the geological structures obtained from analyses of borehole logs and three-dimensional photogrammetric excavation face models. Finally, a series of idealised numerical simulations explore the impact of measured temperature variations on the measured total pressures, which confirm a strong temperature effect on radial pressures related to the setting of concrete and seasonal climatic variations.We find that in our monitoring section radial pressures on the tunnel support are very heterogeneous, i.e., they range between 0.5 MPa and 1.5 MPa, and still gently increasing 4 years after excavation. The measured pressures are 2–5 times greater than measured in the old Belchen tunnel tubes and similar in magnitude to swelling pressures obtained in laboratory tests. EDZ permeability measurements, water content evolution, and radial strain data from the tunnel invert suggest that swelling processes contribute to the long term radial pressure build-up. Thermo-elastic deformation and swelling might be superimposed by local reactivation of tectonic faults and gap grout cracking at crack-initiation stress levels.

3-D Analytical Model of Bipolar Coils With Multiple Finite Magnetic Shields for Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging Systems

The bipolar pad is one of the most promising topologies in inductive power transfer (IPT) systems for electric vehicles. However, there is scant literature on the analytical model of the bipolar pad. In this article, a three-dimensional (3-D) analytical model of the IPT system including a bipolar transmitter and a square receiver is developed based on the superposition of two 2-D subdomain analytical models. Ferrite and the aluminum shields with finite dimension are taken into account on the transmitter and receiver sides. An analytical calculation of the mutual inductance is then carried out with respect to the main parameters of the IPT system, namely the dimension of the coils, the conductivity, and the permeability of the shield. Three study cases are demonstrated to highlight how the proposed method can accelerate speed up the pad design process. Calculation results of the proposed model are compared with both a finite-element analysis (FEA) model and experimental measurements, demonstrating that the proposed model is nine times faster than the FEA method. When comparing with the experimental results, computational error of the proposed model is less than 6% in most of the study cases.

Three-Dimensional Dynamic Modeling and Motion Analysis of a Fin-Actuated Robot

Dynamic modeling has beencapturing the attention for its fundamentality in precise locomotion analyses and control of underwater robots. In this article, we focused on the 3-D dynamic modeling and the experimental validation of multiple motion patterns of underwater robots in large-scale parameter space. A 3-D dynamic model of an active-tail-actuated robotic fish with a barycentre regulating mechanism was first built by combining Newton’s second law for linear motion and Euler’s equation for angular motion. Then, the model parameters were determined by 3-D computer-aided design software SolidWorks, HyperFlow-based computational fluid dynamics simulation, and grey-box model estimation method. Finally, both kinematic experiments with a prototype and numerical simulations were applied to validate the dynamic model’s accuracy mutually. Based on the dynamic model, multiple 3-D motions, including rectilinear motion, turning motion, surfacing motion, and spiral motion, were analyzed. The experimental and simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed model in evaluating the trajectory, attitude, and motion parameters such as the velocity, turning radius, turning angular velocity of the robotic fish.

Simplified 3-D Hybrid Analytical Modelling of Magnet Temperature Distribution for Surface-mounted PMSM With Segmented Magnets

In this article, a simplified three-dimensional (3-D) hybrid analytical thermal model for surface-mounted permanent magnet (PM) synchronous machines is proposed and applied to investigate the influence of PM segmenting strategies on the spatial PM temperature distributions and hotspots. The developed 3-D hybrid thermal model synergies the lumped-parameter thermal model and analytical method and is able to estimate 3-D spatial temperature distributions and hotspots for both unsegmented and segmented surface-mounted PMs accounting for the uneven PM eddy current loss distributions. Meanwhile, by utilizing the proposed matrix-based post-processing methods, the developed hybrid analytical thermal model has a simple mathematical expression but persists in high estimation accuracy. Finally, the proposed hybrid analytical modelling method is validated by 3-D electromagnetic-thermal coupled FEA and experiments.

Intra-host genetic population diversity: Role in emergence and persistence of drug resistance among Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex minor variants.

Drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is an important public health issue in different parts of the world. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex variants (MTBC vars) preferentially infect certain hosts, limiting their distribution to different ecosystems. However, MTBC vars can infect other hosts beyond their preferred target potentially contributing to persistence of drug resistance (DR) in other niches. Here, we performed a comprehensive intra-host genetic analysis for the identification of DR-related mutations among all MTBC minor vars whole genome sequences (8,095 strains) publicly available worldwide. High confidence drug-resistance mutations in katG (isoniazid), rpsL (streptomycin), pncA (pyrazinamide), rpoB (rifampicin) and gyrA (fluoroquinolones) genes were identified among intrahost minor sub-populations in 197 different strains (2.43%) belonging to vars africanum, bovis, caprae, microti, orygis and pinnipedii. In addition, a three-dimensional structure modeling analysis to assess the role of novel mutations was also performed. Our findings highlight the importance of detecting discrete intra-host populations carrying DR mutations.

Policy Analysis on Recycling of Solid Waste Resources in China-Content Analysis Method of CNKI Literature Based on NVivo.

The recycling of solid waste resources can effectively alleviate resource shortages and environmental pollution and can promote the sustainable development of an ecological economy and green economy. Therefore, China has set up a series of recycling policies. In order to promote the development of China’s solid waste resource recycling industry, and to be able to set up and implement correct policy documents according to real-time dynamics, this study uses NVivo software to analyze the content of 10 Core Journals’ documents screened from the China HowNet database and sets up three node classifications and four partition dimensions to build a three-dimensional model for qualitative analysis and emotional analysis. The analysis determines the existing weaknesses of China’s solid waste resource recycling policy under four dimensions and puts forward prospects for its future from these four aspects of system, capacity, measures and environment.

Simultaneous identification of the heat capacity and the anisotropic thermal conductivities of a Li-ion pouch cell by a non-destructive analytical approach

The specifications and aging of Li-ion batteries highly depends on temperature. Battery thermal models are therefore useful to improve the thermal management of battery packs. This study presents a method to determine the heat capacity and the anisotropic thermal conductivities of a Li-ion pouch cell. A single experimental setup is devised and involves local heating of the battery with a resistance heater. The thermal properties of the cell are then identified by calibrating an analytical thermal model with the experimental temperature data. A three-dimensional analytical model is developed for this purpose. It allows for simultaneous characterization of the cell anisotropy. The thermal properties are identified at 50% state of charge between 0 °C and 40 °C. Models with adiabatic and convection boundary conditions are compared and showed similar results. Overall, the values and tendencies agree with the literature. This non-destructive method can be directly applied to any pouch and prismatic cells, and adapted to cylindrical cell.