The effect of photoinitiator type and filler load on physicochemical and mechanical properties of experimental light-cured resin cements through lithium disilicate ceramics of different shades and thicknesses

Objective: This study investigated the influence of photoinitiator types on degree of conversion (DC), rate of polymerization (RP), flexural strength (FS), flexural modulus (FM), and light transmittance (LT) of filled and unfilled light-curable resin cements through different thicknesses and shades of lithium disilicate ceramics.Methods: Lithium disilicate ceramic discs (IPS Emax Press, background [0.0], 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 mm, shades A1 and BL3) were prepared. Experimental resin-based cements [TEGDMA/BisGMA (50/50 mass%)] were prepared using either camphorquinone (CQ)/amine (0.44/1.85 mol%) or TPO (0.44 mol%)], and a micro and nanofiller loads of nil (unfilled); 40/10 mass%; and 50/10 mass%). Resin cements (0.2 mm thick) were placed on the lower surface of the ceramic specimens and light-activated for 30 s from the upper surface using a Bluephase Style curing light (exitance at tip: 1236 mW/cm2 ± 1.20). LT and distribution of irradiance through the ceramics were measured using a UV–vis spectrometer and a beam profile camera, respectively (n = 3). The DC and RP were measured in real-time using mid infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mode (n = 3). FS and FM were measured using a universal testing machine (n = 5). Statistical analyses were performed on LT, DC, RP, FS, and FM data using a general linear model, and supplementary ANOVA and post hoc Tukey multiple comparison test were also performed (α = .05).Results: Thicknesses, shades, photoinitiator type, and fillers load significantly influenced the optical and mechanical characteristics of the resin-based materials (p < 0.05). The BL3 shade ceramic provided higher values of DC, RP, FS, FM, and LT compared with the A1 shade (p < 0.05). Increasing ceramic thickness decreased the properties of the resin-based materials (p < 0.05). Generally, TPO improved mechanical properties of the resin cement compared with CQ (p < 0.05).Significance: The luting process of indirect restorations may be improved by using high molar absorptivity, more reactive, and more efficient photoinitiators such as TPO, as opposed to conventional CQ. The use of such initiator may allow the placement of thicker and more opaque indirect restorations

Effect of Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) on the Mechanical, Dynamic, and Durability Properties of Concrete

Addressing ecological concerns stemming from concrete usage is paramount, prompting exploration into additives for mitigation. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been recognized for their potential to improve the mechanical attributes of cement composites. Additionally, the electrochemical reduction of a saturated solution of carbon dioxide (CO2) and monoethanolamine (CO2-MEA) effectively removes CO2 from the atmosphere. This study delves into the influence of GQDs on the mechanical and durability aspects of concrete. It is noted that the control mix of concrete without GQDs was specifically designed for concrete railway sleepers. Varied proportions of GQDs, ranging from 0.3% to 1.2% at 0.3% increments, were incorporated to assess their impact on fresh and hardened concrete properties. Mechanical properties such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and dynamic properties were evaluated. Durability assessments encompassing water absorption and chloride ion penetration were conducted. Microstructural analysis via Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) imaging and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) elucidated the concrete's internal composition. Notably, an optimal GQDs percentage of 0.3% was observed, signifying its efficacy in enhancing the performance of concrete. When 0.3% of GQDs was added to concrete, compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength were enhanced by 10.8%, 23%, and 11% respectively. The incorporation of GQDs resulted in a notable improvement in the fundamental frequencies and dynamic modulus of elasticity. Concurrently, a decrease in the damping ratio was observed for specimens containing GQDs. Additionally, the porosity and chloride penetration depth were lower by 6% and 30% for specimens with 0.3% GQDs. The improvement in workability, mechanical, and dynamic properties of concrete, along with reducing CO2 from the atmosphere, makes GQDs an ideal eco-friendly material. This study is the first to open new pathways for the development of construction materials that are not only structurally superior but also environmentally responsible, marking a significant step forward in the field of civil engineering materials, especially in railway applications

A novel mouse model recapitulates the effects of rs2254524 variant in the lanosterol synthase gene on salt sensitivity and organ damage

Objective: The blood pressure (BP) response to salt intake (salt sensitivity) shows great variability among individuals and is more frequent in hypertensive patients. Elevated levels of the steroid hormone Endogenous Ouabain (EO) are associated with hypertension (HT) and salt sensitivity. The lanosterol synthase gene (LSS) plays a key role in the biosynthesis of steroids and its rs2254524 variant (Val642Leu) is linked to salt sensitivity in humans. This study aims to investigate the pathophysiological significance of the Lss missense variation in a new knock-in mouse model of salt-sensitive HT onset.Methods: We generated a mouse model carrying the murine homolog (Val643Leu) of the human LSS variant. C57BL/6N LssV643L/V643L were fed different NaCl diets (low-salt, LSD; normal-salt, NSD; high-salt, HSD) and were characterized at functional, histological, and molecular levels.Results: At baseline, mutant mice showed an enlarged kidney compared to the wild-type (WT) counterpart, but the Lss V643L variant did not affect EO biosynthesis nor systolic BP at 3 and 12 months. In HSD, we observed an increased systolic BP only in 12-month-old LssV643L/V643L mice, compared to NSD. Moreover, only the HSD LssV643L/V643L mice showed cardiac hypertrophy and a higher incidence of cardiac fibrosis compared to WT at 12 months. Finally, the Lss mRNA level was differentially regulated by HSD in the adrenal gland, liver, and heart of LssV643L/V643L mice compared to WT.Conclusions: The novel Lss mouse model resembles the salt-sensitive HT phenotype observed in hypertensive patients and provides a good model of salt-sensitive HT and HT-mediated organ damage

The CONVINCE Perspective on Task and Motion Planning in Dynamic Environments

Combined task and motion planning (TAMP) has been extensively studied within robotics. This paper explores TAMP in dynamic environments in the context of the European Union Horizon project CONVINCE (context-aware verifiable and adaptive dynamic deliberation). CONVINCE aims to develop cognitive deliberation capabilities for safe and autonomous robot operation over extended periods. The technical contributions of CONVINCE, including solutions to TAMP, will be validated on three real-world use cases: a robot vacuum cleaner, an assembly robot, and a robotic museum guide. In this paper, we briefly explain our proposed TAMP strategies for these use cases

ATM germ line pathogenic variants affect outcomes in children with ataxia-telangiectasia and hematological malignancies

Abstract Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal-recessive disorder caused by pathogenic variants (PVs) of the ATM gene, predisposing children to hematological malignancies. We investigated their characteristics and outcomes to generate data-based treatment recommendations. In this multinational, observational study we report 202 patients aged ≤25 years with A-T and hematological malignancies from 25 countries. Ninety-one patients (45%) presented with mature B-cell lymphomas, 82 (41%) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, 21 (10%) with Hodgkin lymphoma and 8 (4%) with other hematological malignancies. Four-year overall survival and event-free survival (EFS) were 50.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 43.6-59.1) and 47.9% (95% CI 40.8-56.2), respectively. Cure rates have not significantly improved over the last four decades (P = .76). The major cause of treatment failure was treatment-related mortality (TRM) with a four-year cumulative incidence of 25.9% (95% CI, 19.5-32.4). Germ line ATM PVs were categorized as null or hypomorphic and patients with available genetic data (n = 110) were classified as having absent (n = 81) or residual (n = 29) ATM kinase activity. Four-year EFS was 39.4% (95% CI, 29-53.3) vs 78.7% (95% CI, 63.7-97.2), (P < .001), and TRM rates were 37.6% (95% CI, 26.4-48.7) vs 4.0% (95% CI, 0-11.8), (P = .017), for those with absent and residual ATM kinase activity, respectively. Absence of ATM kinase activity was independently associated with decreased EFS (HR = 0.362, 95% CI, 0.16-0.82; P = .009) and increased TRM (hazard ratio [HR] = 14.11, 95% CI, 1.36-146.31; P = .029). Patients with A-T and leukemia/lymphoma may benefit from deescalated therapy for patients with absent ATM kinase activity and near-standard therapy regimens for those with residual kinase activity

A unified framework for unsupervised action learning via global-to-local motion transformer

Human action recognition remains challenging due to the inherent complexity arising from the combination of diverse granularity of semantics, ranging from the local motion of body joints to high-level relationships across multiple people. To learn this multi-level characteristic of human action in an unsupervised manner, we propose a novel pretraining strategy along with a transformer-based model architecture named GL-Transformer++. Prior methods in unsupervised action recognition or unsupervised group activity recognition (GAR) have shown limitations, often focusing solely on capturing a partial scope of the action, such as the local movements of each individual or the broader context of the overall motion. To tackle this problem, we introduce a novel pretraining strategy named multi-interval pose displacement prediction (MPDP) that enables the model to learn the diverse extents of the action. In the architectural aspect, we incorporate the global and local attention (GLA) mechanism within the transformer blocks to learn local dynamics between joints, global context of each individual, as well as high-level interpersonal relationships in both spatial and temporal manner. In fact, the proposed method is a unified approach that demonstrates efficacy in both action recognition and GAR. Particularly, our method presents a new and strong baseline, surpassing the current SOTA GAR method by significant margins: 29.6% in Volleyball and 60.3% and 59.9% on the xsub and xset settings of the Mutual NTU dataset, respectively

Electroresponsive Thiol-Yne Click-Hydrogels for Insulin Smart Delivery:Tackling Sustained Release and Leakage Control

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused by the body’s inability to produce or use insulin. Considering the figures projected by the World Health Organization, research on insulin therapy is crucial. Hence, we present a soft biointerface based on a thiol–yne poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) click-hydrogel as an advanced treatment option to administrate insulin. Most importantly, the device is rendered electroactive by incorporating biocompatible poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanoparticles (PEDOT NPs) as conductive moieties to precisely control the release of insulin over an extended period through electrochemical stimulation (ES). The device has been carefully optimized on account of: (i) the main interactions established between PEDOT- and PEG-based moieties, which have been studied by density functional theory calculations, and reveal the choice of 4-arm PEG precursors as most suitable cross-linkers; and (ii) the concentration of PEDOT NPs in the device, which has been determined considering minimal interference with the gelation process, as well as the resulting morphological, mechanical, electrochemical, and cytocompatible properties of the PEG-based click-hydrogels. Finally, the management over insulin delivery through ES is verified in vitro, with released insulin being detected by high-performance liquid chromatography. Overall, our hydrogel-based device establishes a method for controlled insulin delivery with the potential for translation to other relevant bioelectronic applications

Relationality in Social Justice: Interactional or Structural?

Social justice has something important to do with ‘social relations’. This is the upshot of much recent work, both in political philosophy (explicitly as relational egalitarianism), and in broader ‘relational approaches’ in social-scientific work on poverty, social inequality, and public policy. I argue that the core notion of ‘relations’ figures in different ways in this varied literature, generating possible confusion. I aim to help advance the conversation by drawing attention to two common, but different, modes of relational thought. One of these concerns itself primarily with the quality of and principles embodied by social and political interactions. The other concerns itself with more macro-sociological evaluation of structurally durable relations between social groups or positions. Although both are valuable, they may also pull normative evaluation in divergent directions, with differing practical implications. I illustrate this by re-examining the debate among egalitarians over private education. Here, I argue, an excessively ‘interactional’ conception of relations can lead to misguided defences of an institution that egalitarians have far stronger reasons to oppose – which is clear when we retain the more structural conception. I argue that this illustrates the interactional/structural distinction, and that the latter has normative priority: a political theory of egalitarianism should primarily have normative concern with the erosion of durably unequal macro-social relations, including remembering to 'look up' at the structural reproduction of clustered power and advantage

An exploratory data-driven approach to classify subgroups of patients with temporomandibular disorders based on pain mechanisms

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a common musculoskeletal condition, presenting treatment challenges due to their non-specific nature. Categorizing patients with TMDs into clusters based on neurobiological pain mechanisms could provide a promising approach to facilitate targeted treatments. This observational study (1) used a network analysis (NA) to explore the complexity of TMDs by investigating relationships among biopsychosocial variables, and (2) validated potential TMD subgroups based on mechanism-specific pain categories. One hundred and two patients with TMD were included. Biopsychosocial variables covered: general health, psychosocial features, TMD pain, and TMD characteristics. A NA evaluated the associations between variables and determined the role of each feature within the network. Hierarchical clustering was used to identify TMD subgroups. The NA revealed significant correlations primarily within the same feature domains, indicating a strong interplay between symptoms and psychological factors. Cluster analysis identified two subgroups driven by nociceptive and nociplastic pain mechanisms; the nociplastic group exhibited higher levels of anxiety, depression, pain catastrophization, central sensitization, pain duration, and more pain locations, along with poorer sleep quality, quality of life, and health status. In contrast, the nociceptive group exhibited restricted maximal mouth opening (MMO), heightened pain during TMJ palpation and mouth opening, and a greater positive response to manual therapy. Across all features, psychological factors, pain locations, and MMO primarily contributed to the separation of subgroups. By adopting a data-driven approach, these results support the significant role of considering the neurobiological basis of pain to improve patient classification. This knowledge may facilitate clinical reasoning and personalized treatments. Perspective This study used a network analysis to explore the complex biopsychosocial interactions present in people with TMDs, identifying important variables such as the Central Sensitization Inventory and pain-free maximal mouth opening. The findings distinguish potential nociceptive and nociplastic pain subgroups, offering important insights for targeted therapeutic strategies

Impact of Electron Beam Welding on the Microstructure of PM2000 ODS Steel

This work investigated the impact of electron beam (EB) welding, using various traverse speeds of the electron beam (1200-2200 mm/min), on the microstructure of PM2000 ODS steel which was characterized using analytical electron microscopy and microhardness. The different heat inputs during welding explored in this study (72-39 J/mm), related to the traverse speed used, correlated with small differences in the widths of the fusion zone. Only minor differences in local microstructures and hardness of the fusion zones were detected amongst the four butt welds produced. The fusion zone is characterized by large columnar grains in the ferritic matrix, together with a coarsened Y-Al-O particle distribution and a reduction in its particle number density as compared to the base material. There is also a sharp border between the fusion zone and base material, with the joint showing little evidence of a heat-affected zone. These changes in microstructure during welding led to a hardness reduction of approx. 30% in the fusion zone of the welds with respect to the base material