Enhancement of bone consolidation using high-frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (HF-PEMFs): An experimental study on rats

In vitro studies showed that high-frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (HF-PEMFs) increase the activity/expression of early and late osteogenic markers and enhance bone mineralization. The main aim of this study was to investigate the in vivo effects of HF-PEMFs on fracture healing using a rat model. A femur fracture was established by surgery in 20 male Wistar rats. Titanium nails were implanted to reduce and stabilize the fracture. After surgery, 20 rats were equally divided into untreated control and treated group (from the first postoperative day HF-PEMFs at 400 pulses/sec [pps] were applied for 10 minutes/day, for two weeks). Quantitative and qualitative assessment of bone formation was made at two and eight weeks following surgery and included morphological and histological analysis, serological analysis by ELISA, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and three-point bending test. At two weeks in HF-PEMF group, soft callus was at a more advanced fibrocartilaginous stage and the bone volume/total tissue volume (BV/TV) ratio in the callus area was significantly higher compared to control group (p = 0.047). Serum concentration of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OC) was significantly higher in HF-PEMF group (ALP p = 0.026, OC p = 0.006) as well as the mechanical strength of femurs (p = 0.03). At eight weeks, femurs from HF-PEMF group had a completely formed woven bone with dense trabeculae, active bone marrow, and had a significantly higher BV/TV ratio compared to control (p = 0.01). HF-PEMFs applied from the first postoperative day, 10 minutes/day for two weeks, enhance bone consolidation in rats, especially in the early phase of fracture healing

Internet of Things Based Systems for Food Safety Management

The paper is highlighting the advantages of integrating technologies and digital standards in public politics for protecting consumer rights. Today’s globalization of food production chains, their extensive complexity and limitations arising from manual insertion and data processing of products information make it impossible for consumers the task of being informed in real-time. This obstacle can be overcome, and the current level of technology and low implementation costs allow full automation of this process. We propose a sensors network architecture based on Internet of Things (IoT) components, which is using autonomous embedded modules and radio identification tags (RFID) that will automatically collect data, covering the entire life cycle of the food product and all the factors that influence its chemical composition. This architecture offers consumers complete data about their food products and how their components were obtained

Secure and Anonymous Voting D-App with IoT Embedded Device Using Blockchain Technology

The paper presents the construction of a proof-of-concept for a distributed and decentralized e-voting application in an IoT embedded device with the help of blockchain technology. A SoC board was used as an IoT embedded device for testing the PoC. This solution ensures complete voter anonymity and end-to-end security for all entities participating in the electronic voting process. The paper outlines the solution’s two layers. Implementation details are presented for the e-voting application, which was deployed inside of an IoT embedded device. The solution and presented protocols provide two major properties: privacy and verifiability. To ensure privacy, the proposed solution protects the secrecy of each electronic vote. As for implementing verifiability, the solution prevents a corrupt authority from faking in any way the process of counting the votes. Both properties are achieved in the presented solution e-VoteD-App

Aligning Public Policy with REPowerEU Program Objectives by Adopting EESS Solutions: A Technology Acceptance Model Approach

The achievement of short-term energy savings through changes in user consumption behaviour is one of the main directions addressed by the REPowerEU program. This paper investigates the perspective of increasing energy efficiency at the level of domestic consumers in Romania by adopting energy efficiency smart solutions (EESS). The research is based on the extended technology adoption model and analyses the behaviour of Romanian consumers regarding the intention to use EESS solutions, in relation to three main influencing factors (awareness, environmental protection considerations, and public policy) moderated by demographic factors. To validate the research hypotheses, a survey was organised between January and March 2023, and structural equation modelling was used to highlight the effects of the determining factors on adoption intention. The research results suggest that all the predictors considered positively influence the behavioral intention to use EESS, with public policy having the greatest effect, followed by awareness. The results obtained suggest that the behaviour of household energy consumers towards adopting EESS is different depending on their age and average income. Additionally, through the IMPA model, a series of managerial interventions are formulated, mainly targeted at the authorities, in order to align Romanian public policies with the objectives of the REPowerEU program, in the context of promoting voluntary measures geared to the lifestyle and behaviour of household consumers by adopting EESS solutions. The limits of the research mainly refer to the lower familiarity acquired as a result of experience in use, in the context of the still early stage of development of the analysed technologies, but also to the exclusion from the analysis of some constructs of the extended model of technology acceptance, such as hedonic motivation or social influences, which would have allowed a more precise understanding of consumer attitudes

Different climate response of three tree ring proxies of Pinus sylvestris from the Eastern Carpathians, Romania

The aim of this study was to compare the climatic responses of three tree rings proxies: tree ring width (TRW), maximum latewood density (MXD), and blue intensity (BI). For this study, 20 cores of Pinus sylvestris covering the period 1886–2015 were extracted from living non-damaged trees from the Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania). Each chronology was compared to monthly and daily climate data. All tree ring proxies had a stronger correlation with the daily climate data compared to monthly data. The highest correlation coefficient was obtained between the MXD chronology and daily maximum temperature over the period beginning with the end of July and ending in the middle of September (r = 0.64). The optimal intervals for the temperature signature were 01 Aug – 24 Sept for the MXD chronology, 05 Aug – 25 Aug for the BI chronology, and both 16 Nov of the previous year – 16 March of the current year and 15 Apr – 05 May for the TRW chronology. The results from our study indicate that MXD can be used as a proxy indicator for summer maximum temperature, while TRW can be used as a proxy indicator for just March maximum temperature. The weak and unstable relationship between BI and maximum temperature indicates that BI is not a good proxy indicator for climate reconstructions over the analysed region

ABOUT THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELS OF OSTEOSYNTHESIS SYSTEMS

Implantology is based on the failure of orthopedic treatment, or cases where orthopedic treatment is incapable of reducing or maintaining, for example, fracture of the femoral neck with movement. The advantage of centromedular fixation is that it allows the bone to physically load as much as possible, minimizing the risk of implant failure. The drawbacks of conventional nails have been eliminated with the introduction of the centromedular stem locking system. The purpose of this study was to obtain several virtual biomechanical systems on which to study several types of tibial fractures and several osteosynthesis systems. Starting from the tomographic images of the tibia, a virtual model of this bone component was developed. This model was "finalized" and modified using certain Geomagic techniques and then imported into SolidWorks. The osteosynthesis element used was the rigid classical nail with orthopedic screws which was modeled using the direct observation and measurement method. It is intended that these virtual components to be used to make orthopedic virtual osteosynthesis systems that are then analyzed in Ansys with the finite element method

Phosphating Depositions for Equipment’s Used in Explosive Atmospheres

According to the ATEX directive, any personal protective equipment or work equipment intended to be used in a potentially explosive area must be made of materials that cannot be the source of mechanical or static electricity-related sparks. The carbon steel is one of the most widely used metallic materials, but the possibility of using it in the manufacture of equipment used in explosive environments is low. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present an alternative solution to use metal equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres, by depositing a phosphate layer on the surface of the carbon steel. The metal was coated by a simple process, the metal being immersed in a phosphating solution based on zinc. Due to the properties of zinc phosphate deposited on the steel surface, especially electrical insulating, the steel coated with this type of layer can be used in explosive atmosphere

THE MODEL OF A PROSTHETIC SYSTEM FOR HUMAN KNEE JOINT

Obesity, sedentarism, and other disadvantages of the modern age have led to the emergence of unknown pathological situations a few centuries before. At the same time, the development of medicine, orthopaedic surgery has led to finding ways to solve these situations. The present paper proves that the use of high-tech methods used in engineering can generate solutions in the field of orthopaedics both for obtaining new prothesis models, but also by creating virtual environments for tests. Several CAD techniques and techniques have been explored, coupled with medical imaging, can provide exciting solutions for obtaining virtual environments that can allow "in vitro" analysis of various normal, pathological or prosthetic joints. In this paper we have detailed how to obtain a prosthetic knee joint in a parameterized environment. This joint was tested virtually. In the final of the paper, main conclusions were made

Structural Properties and Antifungal Activity against Candida albicans Biofilm of Different Composite Layers Based on Ag/Zn Doped Hydroxyapatite-Polydimethylsiloxanes

Modern medicine is still struggling to find new and more effective methods for fighting off viruses, bacteria and fungi. Among the most dangerous and at times life-threatening fungi is Candida albicans. Our work is focused on surface and structural characterization of hydroxyapatite, silver doped hydroxyapatite and zinc doped hydroxyapatite deposited on a titanium substrate previously coated with polydimethylsiloxane (HAp-PDMS, Ag:HAp-PDMS, Zn:HAp-PDMS) by different techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GDOES) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphological studies revealed that the use of the PDMS polymer as an interlayer improves the quality of the coatings. The structural characterizations of the thin films revealed the basic constituents of both apatitic and PDMS structure. In addition, the GD depth profiles indicated the formation of a composite material as well as the successful embedding of the HAp, Zn:HAp and Ag:HAp into the polymer. On the other hand, in vitro evaluation of the antifungal properties of Ag:HAp-PDMS and Zn:HAp-PDMS demonstrated the fungicidal effects of Ag:HAp-PDMS and the potential antifungal effect of Zn:HAp-PDMS composite layers against C. albicans biofilm. The results acquired in this research complete previous research on the potential use of new complex materials produced by nanotechnology in biomedicine

Mechanical Properties and Wear Resistance of Biodegradable ZnMgY Alloy

Biodegradable metallic materials are gaining attention for medical applications in short-term implants (15–500 days) because of their good mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and generalized corrosion. Most medical applications involve implant wear processes, particularly for bone fractures. Parallelepipedic specimens (dimensions 50 mm × 10 mm × 3 mm) were obtained by cutting the hot-rolled material processed from cast ingots of ZnMgY. To test the tribological performance of these stationary specimens, they were placed at the upper point of the machine’s tribological contact. The rotating lower disk of the AMSLER machine (AMSLER & Co., Schaffhouse, Switzerland) is manufactured from AISI 52100 bearing steel with a 62–65 HRC hardness and a diameter of 59 mm both radially and axially. Frictional torque is the parameter that is measured. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) were used to analyze the worn areas. The material behavior in the normal and wear states upon immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) was evaluated