Sense and Sensibility: The Case for the Nationwide Inclusion of Engineering in the K-12 Curriculum

The competitive status of the United States is inextricably linked to innovation just as innovation is inseparable from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To stay competitive in innovation requires that the United States produce a 21st century workforce complete with requisite education, training, skills, and motivation. If we accept a priori that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education are crucial to competitiveness and innovation and that, in terms of innovation, mathematics, science, and engineering are interdependent, why are mathematics and science uniformly ubiquitous in the K-12 curriculum while engineering is conspicuously absent? We are passionate in our belief that the uniform addition of engineering to the K-12 curriculum will help ensure that the nation has "the right" 21st Century workforce. Furthermore, we believe that a nationwide effort, led by a coalition of engineering academics, practitioners, and societies is required to turn this goal into reality. However, accomplishing this goal necessitates, as we are reminded by the title of Jane Austen's timeless novel, "Sense and Sensibility", a workable solution that seeks the "middle ground" between passion and reason. We begin our paper by making two essential points: Engineers are not scientists. Engineering exists separate from science, has its own specialized knowledge community apart from science, and it is largely responsible for many of the most significant advancements and improvements in the quality of our life. Our workable solution requires that K-12 education, nationwide, accommodate the inclusion of engineering as a stand alone curriculum and we offer three reasons to support our position: (1) workforce development, (2) stimulating interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses and careers, and (3) creating a technologically literate society. We conclude with some thoughts on how this important goal can be accomplished

Factors related to delayed treatment: A case report of a huge cutaneous horn and review of the literature

We present a case of a man with a giant cutaneous horn over his frontal region. This case has been presented for the size of the lesion, due to delayed treatment, and to illustrate the reasons why the growth of this lesion has been possible in a western country, in the 21st century. It was a solitary, not painful lesion which caused significant aesthetic problems. The diagnosis was based on an ultrasonographic study and the treatment of choice was a surgical excision. This case is an opportunity to review the literature about the cutaneous horns, to talk about the main causes of delayed diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous lesions and, to define the role of the specialist in the assessment of emotions and patient support

Diagnosis and treatment of upper eyelid lipoma: A case report

Purpose: Presentation of a rare lesion: a case of upper eyelid lipoma, Observations: A 76-year-old otherwise healthy woman presented with a right upper eyelid swelling. Her medical history was recorded. On ophthalmologic examination a soft, non-ulcerated and not well-circumscribed mass was evident. An ultrasonography examination was carried out showing a hyperechoic non capsulated mass situated between the superior orbital margin and the orbicularis oculi muscle. Conclusions and Importance: Eyelid lipomas must be differentiated from herniated orbital fat, cystic lesions, tumours, and the lacrimal gland. A pre-operative differential diagnosis of eyelid lipoma can be done through medical history, ophthalmologic, and ultrasonography examinations. Nevertheless, in case of doubt a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be performed to assess a possible orbital involvement and to plan for the right surgical procedure to be performed

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent mass transfer at the surface of an open channel flow

We present direct numerical simulation results of turbulent open channel flow at bulk Reynolds numbers up to 12 000, coupled with (passive) scalar transport at Schmidt numbers up to 200. Care is taken to capture the very large-scale motions which appear already for relatively modest Reynolds numbers. The transfer velocity at the flat, free surface is found to scale with the Schmidt number to the power ‘ −1/2 ’, in accordance with previous studies and theoretical predictions for uncontaminated surfaces. The scaling of the transfer velocity with Reynolds number is found to vary, depending on the Reynolds number definition used. To compare the present results with those obtained in other systems, we define a turbulent Reynolds number at the edge of the surface-influenced layer. This allows us to probe the two-regime model of Theofanous et al. (Intl J. Heat Mass Transfer, vol. 19, 1976, pp. 613–624), which is found to correctly predict that small-scale vortices significantly affect the mass transfer for turbulent Reynolds numbers larger than 500. It is further established that the root mean square of the surface divergence is, on average, proportional to the mean transfer velocity. However, the spatial correlation between instantaneous surface divergence and transfer velocity tends to decrease with increasing Schmidt number and increase with increasing Reynolds number. The latter is shown to be caused by an enhancement of the correlation in high-speed regions, which in turn is linked to the spatial distribution of surface-parallel vortices

EVALUATION OF POSTURAL CONTROL AND PROPRIOCEPTION IN WOMEN WITH OSTEOPOROSIS, BEFORE AND AFTER AN EXERCISE TRAINING

Osteoporosis (OP) is a skeleton systemic disease characterized by a reduced bone mass and deterioration of micro-architecture. OP is often accompanied by an increased risk of fall and consequently a high risk of fracture. Since postural control and proprioception are two of the most significant factors in falls and injury prevention, exercise training, including specific balance and proprioceptive exercises, could be the keys to reducing the risk of fall and fractures. This study was aimed at assessing proprioception and postural control, using Delos Postural Proprioceptive System (DPPS; Delos, Turin, Italy), in persons with osteoporosis, before and after an exercise training

Tattooing of the nipple-areola complex: What not to do. A case series

Introduction: Reconstruction of the nipple areola complex (NAC) is the final and easier step of breast reconstruction. However, surgeons, especially if trainees, typically have not developed tattoo skills during their training. The aim of this report is to share advice developed in our clinical practice that would minimize patient complaints and complications while performing NAC tattoos. Methods: From January 2016 to May 2018, reconstruction of NAC was performed in 48 consecutive patients. Nipple reconstruction was performed initially using skin flaps and this was followed three to eight months later by NAC tattooing. We analyzed medical reports at 12 months follow-up where we usually record patient satisfaction (very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied) and every patient's complaint or complication. Results: Thirty-two patients (67%) were very satisfied of NAC tattooing, twelve patients (25%) satisfied, while four patients (8%) dissatisfied. Patients complained for not having involved in choosing color, areas without sufficient pigment, extreme darkness of the tattooed NAC and artificial look. Conclusion: Tattooing is a simple and safe procedure, with a high satisfaction rate. Based on our experience, despite some technical aspects have to be considered, it is a procedure that can be safely performed by plastic surgical trainees

Objective Selection Criteria between ALT and Radial Forearm Flap in Oral Soft Tissues Reconstruction

Different locoregional and free flaps were described for oral soft tissues reconstruction after oncological resections; however, free flaps remain the first choice. Among free flaps, the radial forearm flap (RFF) and the anterolateral thigh perforator flap (ALT) are preferred the most. The lack of standardization of the flap choice leaves the selection to the surgeon's experience. The purpose of our observational study is to provide an algorithm to support the flap choice for the reconstruction of oral soft tissues. Sixty patients with squamous cell carcinoma of oral soft tissues were enrolled in our study. All the patients underwent preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the three-dimensional size of the tumor. During the follow-up, the patients were evaluated by using the University of Washington-Quality of Life Questionnaire. The questionnaire score was better for small tumors and worse for large tumors in both functional and relational fields. We observed that most of the overlapping results were obtained for small defects and the choice of RFF, as well as for large defects and the use of ALT. We observed that in the preoperative time, it is possible to select which flap between radial forearm and ALT is more appropriate for oral soft tissues defects reconstruction, according to the size of the tumor evaluated by MRI. We propose a decisional algorithm that suggests the type of flap to use between ALT and RFF