The soldering process for aerospace applications follows stringent requirements and standards to ensure the reliability and safety of electronic connections in aerospace systems. For this reason, the quality control phase plays an important role to guarantee requirements compliance. This process often requires manual control since technicians’ knowledge is fundamental to obtain effective quality check results. In this context, the authors have developed a new open source dataset (SolDef_AI) to implement an innovative methodology for printed circuit board (PCB) defect detection exploiting the Mask R-CNN algorithm. The presented open source dataset aims to overcome the challenges associated with the availability of datasets for model training in this specific research and electronics industrial field. The dataset is open source and available online. Full article

This paper presents a research program called CP2DIMG conducted at the Federation of Environment and Society Research at the University of Corsica. The goal of CP2DIMG is to better understand the influence of emotions on operational personnel’s decision-making, aiming to test training systems dedicated to individuals facing high stress during their professional activities. This type of training system is intended to enhance emotional and mental resilience, thereby improving decision-making ability in uncertain situations under the influence of emotions related to the event. For implementation, the method will be tailored to the specificities of two categories of operational personnel: firefighters and municipal police officers. The expected results will address significant demands from operational professionals in the Mediterranean region for firefighting safety but also for large-scale or highly complex interventions. This study fully integrates into the challenges of the Mediterranean region: forest management, risk prevention plans, and preparedness of local actors responsible for crisis management. Furthermore, individuals responsible for crisis management, including local government officials and risk management and security personnel, will be able to use the obtained results for effective decision-making. Full article

The widespread availability of tools to collect and share spatial data enables us to produce a large amount of geographic information on a daily basis. This enormous production of spatial data requires scalable data management systems. Geospatial architectures have changed from clusters to cloud architectures and more parallel and distributed processing platforms to be able to tackle these challenges. Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems as a backbone of distributed systems have been established in several application areas such as web3, blockchains, and crypto-currencies. Unlike centralized systems, data storage in P2P networks is distributed across network nodes, providing scalability and no single point of failure. However, managing and processing queries on these networks has always been challenging. In this work, we propose a spatio-temporal indexing data structure, DSTree. DSTree does not require additional Distributed Hash Trees (DHTs) to perform multi-dimensional range queries. Inserting a piece of new geographic information updates only a portion of the tree structure and does not impact the entire graph of the data. For example, for time-series data, such as storing sensor data, the DSTree performs around 40% faster in spatio-temporal queries for small and medium datasets. Despite the advantages of our proposed framework, challenges such as 20% slower insertion speed or semantic query capabilities remain. We conclude that more significant research effort from GIScience and related fields in developing decentralized applications is needed. The need for the standardization of different geographic information when sharing data on the IPFS network is one of the requirements. Full article

The aim of this research is to explore the potential effects of two microalgae-based additives included in finishing feeds on the quality and shelf-life of seabream fillets. In a 41-day feeding trial, seabream specimens were fed with experimental aquafeeds containing 10% of the bioactive supplements. These additives consisted of a blend of Nannochloropsis gaditana and Arthrospira platensis biomass, which was utilized as either raw (LB-CB) or enzymatically hydrolyzed (LB-CBplus). A control group received a microalgae-free diet. The results showed that the functional aquafeeds improved the nutritional profile of seabream fillets, increasing protein and PUFA-n3 contents while reducing the atherogenic index, especially for the LB-CBplus treatment. LB-CBplus also enhanced the texture parameters (hardness and chewiness) of fillets during the initial 5 days under cold storage. Regarding skin pigmentation, fillets showed increased greenish and yellowish coloration compared to control fish, mostly attributed to the inclusion of crude algal biomass (LB-CB). Moreover, diets enriched with microalgae additives effectively delayed muscle lipid oxidation processes under refrigeration for up to 12 days, with LB-CBplus exhibiting higher antioxidant effects. These findings highlight the potential of microalgae-based additives to enhance both the nutritional and organoleptic quality of seabream fillets. Full article

Integrated disaster risk reduction in schools represents a key component of safety strategies within the educational sector of every country. The aim of this study is to comprehensively explore the impact of various demographic and socio-economic factors on the perceptions of students and teachers regarding disaster risk reduction and safety in schools. This study is distinguished by its extensive empirical approach, employing a multistage random sampling method to conduct 850 face-to-face interviews (650 with students and 200 with teachers) throughout 2023 in 10 out of the total 18 municipalities in the Western Morava Basin of the Republic of Serbia. Two structured survey instruments were developed, incorporating a mix of qualitative (closed-ended) multiple-choice questions and five-point Likert scales. The research proposes two central hypotheses regarding school-based disaster risk reduction. Firstly, it suggests that gender, age, parent’s employment, academic achievement, living situation, parental education levels, and engagement with social media collectively influence students’ perspectives on this matter (H1–H8). Secondly, it posits that gender, age, marital status, parenthood, and educational background significantly impact teachers’ viewpoints on school-based disaster risk reduction (H1–H5). Multivariate linear regression was used to explore predictors of students’ and teachers’ insights on school-based disaster risk reduction. Various statistical tests, including Chi-square, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation, were employed to investigate the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors on these insights. The results of multivariate regression analyses indicate that age, gender, and marital status emerge as the primary predictors across various facets of students’ and teachers’ insights on school-based disaster risk reduction, including awareness of disasters, disaster education activities, attitudes toward disaster risk reduction education, and enhancement of disaster information accessibility. The findings of this study provide comprehensive insights into the key factors influencing students’ and teachers’ perceptions of disaster risk reduction in schools. This research not only contributes to the academic discourse on disaster education but also serves as a foundational basis for improving educational programs, developing policies and strategies, refining normative educational frameworks, guiding teacher training, and informing further research in disaster education. Full article

Background: The electronics industry has characteristics, such as the continuous occurrence of new hazards and risk factors due to rapid technological changes, the occurrence of safety and health blind spots due to the outsourcing of work, trade secrets, and a lack of information, so research is needed from a safety and health perspective. This study sought to determine the relationship between work-related health problems and the working conditions of electronics industry workers. Methods: The study subjects were 3354 workers in the electronics industry from the raw data of the 4th to 6th Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). The variables were divided into general, occupational, and working environment characteristics, and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between work-related health problems and working conditions. Results: Among the general and occupational characteristics, gender, education, night work, and working time appropriateness were analyzed as effect factors. In terms of working environment characteristics, physical work risk, musculoskeletal work risk, possibility of risk to work, subjective health impact, and working environment satisfaction were found to have effects on work-related health problems. Conclusions: The results of this study are meaningful in that they identified the effect factors of work-related health problems in the working conditions of workers in the electronics industry, where prior studies are lacking. Therefore, improvements, such as the management of night workers, appropriate working time, reduction in exposure to work risk factors, and improvement in working environment satisfaction, appear to be necessary. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the Digital Imaging software in the prediction of soft tissue changes following three types of orthodontic interventions: non-extraction, extraction, and orthognathic surgery treatments. Ninety-six patients were randomly selected from the records of three orthodontic interventions (32 subjects per group): (1) non-extraction, (2) extraction, and (3) orthodontic treatment combined with orthognathic surgery. The cephalometric analysis of soft tissue changes in both the actual post-treatment and the predicted treatment was performed using Dolphin Imaging software version 11.9. A paired t-test was utilized to assess the statistically significant differences between the predicted and actual treatment outcomes of the parameters (p < 0.05). In the non-extraction group, prediction errors were exhibited only in the lower lip parameters. In the extraction group, prediction errors were observed in both the upper and lower lip parameters. In the orthognathic surgery group, prediction errors were identified in chin thickness, facial contour angle, and upper and lower lip parameters (p < 0.05). Digital Imaging software exhibited inaccurate soft tissue prediction of 0.3–1.0 mm in some parameters of all treatment groups, which should be considered regarding the application of Dolphin Imaging software in orthodontic treatment planning. Full article

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems due to their superior performance in most aspects. Battery parameter identification, as one of the core technologies to achieve an efficient battery management system (BMS), is the key to predicting and managing the performance of Li-ion batteries. However, due to the complex chemical reactions and thermodynamic processes inside lithium-ion batteries, coupled with the influence of the external environment, accurate identification of lithium-ion battery parameters has become an urgent problem to be solved. In addition, data-driven parameter identification can enable battery models to better understand battery behavior, which is one of the focuses of future research. For this reason, this paper comprehensively reviews the application of data-driven parameter identification methods in different scenarios. Firstly, the research briefly explains the working principle of lithium-ion batteries and the key parameters affecting their performance. Secondly, this paper deeply discusses data-driven methods for parameter identification, which are widely used nowadays, and provides improvement ideas to address the shortcomings of traditional methods. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges faced by parameter identification technology for lithium-ion batteries and envisages future prospects. Full article

As society becomes more reliant on Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, state-of-health (SOH) estimation will need to become more accurate and reliable. Therefore, SOH modelling is in the process of shifting from using simple and continuous charge/discharge profiles to more dynamic profiles constructed to mimic real operation when ageing the Li-ion batteries. However, in most cases, when ageing the batteries, the same exact profile is just repeated until the battery reaches its end of life. Using data from batteries aged in this fashion to create a model, there is a very real possibility that the model will rely on the built-in repetitiveness of the profile. Therefore, this work will examine the dependence of the performance of a multiple linear regression on the number of charges used to train the model, and their location within the profile used to age the batteries. The investigation shows that it is possible to train models using randomly selected partial charges while still reaching errors as low as 0.5%. Furthermore, it shows that only one randomly sampled partial charge is needed to achieve errors smaller than 1%. Lastly, as the number of randomly sampled partial charges used to train the model increases, the dependence on particular partial charges tends to decrease. Full article

Potassium–oxygen batteries (KOBs) are a promising energy storage technology with high theoretical energy density, low overpotential and a long cycle life. The cathode microstructure plays a significant role in the electrochemical performance of KOB. In this article, hierarchical porosity was introduced to commercially available carbon paper cathodes by thermal pretreatment in air at different pretreatment times. This pretreatment modifies the properties, such as surface area, defects, oxygen functional groups, etc. The discharge performance was determined at three different current densities, i.e., 0.1 mA/cm², 0.5 mA/cm², and 1.0 mA/cm². It has been found that an increase in specific surface area with the introduction of micropores and mesopores is beneficial for the improvement in the discharge capacity by enabling homogeneous discharge product, KO₂ distribution and high degrees of pore filling over the volume of the cathode. A reduction in the discharge overpotentials was observed, which is attributed to the introduction of oxygenic functional groups and defects. Samples treated for the longest pretreatment time of 24 h showed the highest discharge capacity of 5 mAh/cm² and lowest discharge overpotential of 0.03 V. Full article

With the global surge in electric vehicle (EV) deployment, driven by enhanced environmental regulations and efforts to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, managing the life cycle of Li-ion batteries becomes more critical than ever. A crucial step for battery reuse or recycling is the precise estimation of static capacity at retirement. Traditional methods are time-consuming, often taking several hours. To address this issue, a machine learning-based approach is introduced to estimate the static capacity of retired batteries rapidly and accurately. Partial discharge data at a 1C rate over durations of 6, 3, and 1 min were analyzed using a machine learning algorithm that effectively handles temporally evolving data. The estimation performance of the methodology was evaluated using the mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE), and root mean squared error (RMSE). The results showed reliable and fairly accurate estimation performance, even with data from shorter partial discharge durations. For the one-minute discharge data, the maximum RMSE was 2.525%, the minimum was 1.239%, and the average error was 1.661%. These findings indicate the successful implementation of rapidly assessing the static capacity of EV batteries with minimal error, potentially revitalizing the retired battery recycling industry. Full article

The continuing increase in pollutant emissions requires the use of alternative power sources. This includes the use of electric or hybrid vehicles whose energy storage system is based on batteries of various types, including lithium-ion batteries. The optimum operating temperature is between 15 °C and 35 °C. Too high temperatures can lead to catastrophic phenomena such as thermal runaway. The thermal gradient within the system should not exceed 5 °C. An effective Battery Thermal Management System can mitigate this problem. This study analysed a lithium-ion battery with a bag structure. Temperature control was evaluated using a passive (low-cost) system with phase-change materials (PCMs). The material chosen was n-octadecane (paraffin) due to its thermophysical properties and market price. Four different cooling methods were analysed, including air, fins, pure PCM, and a mixed system of single cells and small battery packs. The results show that an undesirable temperature peak around 50 °C (323.15 K) can occur at hot spots. The best system for containing the temperature inside the battery pack is the PCM cooling system with fins. The optimum fin thickness is 1.5 mm. To contain the temperature inside the battery pack, the number of fins studied is 10, while the best temperature containment is achieved with n+ 1 plates, where n is the number of cells. Full article

Zinc oxide (ZnO) particles have recently received attention in different agriculture sectors as new technologies and practices are entering into force with limited adverse effects on the environment. However, various works have reported both positive or negative effects on plants. The present study focused on an evaluation of the effects of four different new micro- and nano-sized ZnO particles (namely, Desert Roses (DRs), MultiPods (MPs), NanoFlakes (NFs), and NanoParticles (NPs)) on the seed germination traits of Ocimum basilicum L., Lactuca sativa L., and Lepidium sativum L. ZnO particles were applied at concentrations of 12.5 ppm, 25 ppm, and 50 ppm. Seeds moistened with deionized water were used as a control. All the particles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, and their production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) under seed germination conditions was evaluated through electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Seeds of each species were put on filter paper under controlled conditions in both dark and light photoperiods. In this bioassay, the final germination percentage (FGP), early root length, and index of germination were evaluated. The results showed a wide variability of response to the type and concentration of ZnO particles and to the applied photoperiod of the three studied species. O. basilicum FGP increased when treated with NPs and DRs already at the lowest concentration and especially in light conditions with values significantly superior to those of the control (71.1%, 69.4%, and 52.2%, respectively). At higher concentrations, phytotoxicity on root length was observed, with a reduction of circa 30% in comparison to untreated seeds. On the contrary, in L. sativum, a phytotoxic effect was seen in radicle length with all the used ZnO particles and concentrations. L. sativa seeds did not show significant effects due to the type of particles, with a reduction in FGP only at higher concentrations and particularly in light conditions. Upon light irradiation, different levels of ROS were counted by the application of ZnO particles. DRs produced the highest amount of DMPO-OH adduct (up to 2.7 × 10⁻⁵ M) followed by the NP type (2.0 × 10⁻⁵ M). Taking together all these findings, the seeds’ coat morphology, their ability to absorb ZnO particles, and the ROS production in light conditions are indeed crucial players in the application of these formulations in seed germination. Full article

Phonon blockade is an important quantum effect for revealing the quantum behaviors of mechanical systems. For a nitrogen-vacancy center spin strongly coupled to a mechanical resonator via the second-order magnetic gradient, we show that the qubit driving can lead to the implementation of the two-phonon blockade, while the usual mechanical driving only allows for the appearance of a single-phonon blockade. As a signature, we investigate three-phonon antibunching with a simultaneous two-phonon bunching process by numerically calculating the second-order and third-order correlation functions. We also analyze in detail the influence of the system parameters (including the qubit driving strength, the dephasing rate of the qubit, as well as the thermal phonon number) on the quality of the two-phonon blockade effect. Our work provides an alternative method for extending the concept of a phonon blockade from a single phonon to multiphonon. It is of direct relevance for the engineering of multiphonon quantum coherent devices and thus has potential applications in quantum information processing. Full article

Bacopa monnieri, a cognitive-enhancing herb crucial in health supplements, faces quality variations and contamination by toxic substances in conventional field cultivation, which hinders industrial use. Here, indoor cultivation of diploid (2x) and tetraploid (4x) B. monnieri using hydroponic and soil systems was studied. Soil cultivation promoted longer shoot lengths but resulted in lower biomass and chlorophyll contents compared to hydroponic cultivation. Conversely, soil cultivation significantly elevated total phenolics, total triterpenoids, bacoside A3, and bacopaside X contents in both lines, showing 1.7- to 3.3-fold increases over hydroponic cultivation. Furthermore, 4x plants grown in soil had higher bacopaside II and total bacoside contents than hydroponically grown plants, with 2- and 1.5-fold increases, respectively. Yet, no significant differences were observed in growth and pigment between 2x and 4x lines under the same system. Similarly, no significant differences in bioactive compound productions were found between 2x and 4x hydroponically grown plants. However, in soil, 4x plants exhibited higher total phenolic content, bacopaside II, and total bacoside contents compared to 2x plants. Interestingly, 2x plants grown in soil were the top performers for bacoside production per plant. These findings optimize cultivation practices to meet industry demands, warranting further research into large-scale production techniques. Full article

Vortices belong to the most important phenomena in fluid dynamics and play an essential role in many engineering applications. They can act detrimentally by harnessing the flow energy and reducing the efficiency of an aerodynamic device, whereas in other cases, their presence can be exploited to achieve targeted flow conditions. The control of the vortex parameters is desirable in both cases. In this paper, we introduce an optimization strategy for the control of vortices in the wake of a bluff body. Flow modelling is based on RANS and DES computations, validated by experimental data. The algorithm for vortex identification and characterization is based on the triple decomposition of motion. It produces a quantitative measure of vortex strength which is used to define the objective function in the optimization procedure. It is shown how the shape of an aerodynamic device can be altered to achieve the desired characteristics of vortices in its wake. The studied case is closely related to flame holders for combustion applications, but the conceptual approach has a general applicability to vortex control. Full article

This work is devoted to the study of gas-dynamic processes in the operation of climate control systems in the cabins of vehicles (HVAC), focusing on pressure values. This research examines the issue of assessing the required values of air overpressure inside the locomotive cabin, which is necessary to prevent gas exchange between the interior of the cabin and the outside air through leaks in the cabin, including protection against the penetration of harmful substances. The pressure boost in the cabin depends, among other things, on the external air pressure on the locomotive body, the power of the climate system fan, and the ratio of the input and output deflectors. To determine the external air pressure, the problem of train movement in a wind tunnel is considered, the internal and external fluids domain is considered, and the air pressure on the cabin skin is determined using numerical methods CFD based on the Navier–Stokes equations, depending on the speed of movement. The finite-volume modeling package Ansys CFD (Fluent) was used as an implementation. The values of excess internal pressure, which ensures the operation of the climate system under different operating modes, were studied numerically and on the basis of an approximate applied formula. In particular, studies were carried out depending on the speed and movement of transport, on the airflow of the climate system, and on the ratio of the areas of input and output parameters. During a numerical experiment, it was found that for a train speed of 100 km/h, the required excess pressure is 560 kPa, and the most energy-efficient way to increase pressure is to regulate the area of the outlet valves. Full article

Introduction: It has long been accepted that trauma is one of the most important and frequent predisposing factors for onychomycoses. However, the role of direct trauma in the pathogenesis of fungal nail infections has only recently been elucidated in a series of 32 cases of post-traumatic single-digit onychomycosis. The importance of repeated trauma due to foot and toe abnormalities was rarely investigated. Aimof the study: This is a multicenter single-author observational study over a period of 6 years performed at specialized nail clinics in three countries. All patient photographs taken by the author during this period were screened for toenail alterations, and all toe onychomycosis cases were checked for whether they contained enough information to evaluate potential foot and toe abnormalities. Particular attention was paid to the presence of hallux valgus, hallux valgus interphalangeus, hallux erectus, inward rotation of the big toe, and outward rotation of the little toe, as well as splay foot. Only cases with unequivocal proof of fungal nail infection by either histopathology, mycologic culture, or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were accepted. Results: Of 1653 cases, 185 were onychomycoses, proven by mycologic culture, PCR, or histopathology. Of these, 179 involved at least one big toenail, and 6 affected one or more lesser toenails. Three patients consulted us for another toenail disease, and onychomycosis was diagnosed as a second disease. Eight patients had a pronounced tinea pedum. Relatively few patients had a normal big toe position (n = 9). Most of the cases had a mild to marked hallux valgus (HV) (105) and a hallux valgus interphalangeus (HVI) (143), while hallux erectus was observed in 43 patients, and the combination of HV and HVI was observed 83 times. Discussion: The very high percentage of foot and toe deformations was surprising. It may be hypothesized that this is not only a pathogenetically important factor but may also play an important role in the localization of the fungal infection, as no marked hallux deviation was noted in onychomycoses that affected the lesser toes only. As the management of onychomycoses is a complex procedure involving the exact diagnosis with a determination of the pathogenic fungus, the nail growth rate, the type of onychomycosis, its duration, and predisposing factors, anomalies of the toe position may be important. Among the most commonly mentioned predisposing factors are peripheral circulatory insufficiency, venous stasis, peripheral neuropathy, immune deficiency, and iatrogenic immunosuppression, whereas foot problems are not given enough attention. Unfortunately, many of these predisposing and aggravating factors are difficult to treat or correct. Generally, when explaining the treatment of onychomycoses to patients, the importance of these orthopedic alterations is not or only insufficiently discussed. In view of the problems encountered with the treatment of toenail mycoses, this attitude should be changed in order to make the patient understand why there is such a low cure rate despite excellent minimal inhibitory drug concentrations in the laboratory. Full article

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is one of the major economic fruit crops but suffers many diseases, causing damage to the quality of grapes. Strain G166 was isolated from the rhizosphere of grapevine and was found to exhibited broad-spectrum antagonistic activities against fungal pathogens on grapes in vitro, such as Coniella diplodiella, Botrytis cinerea, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that G166 contained a 6613582 bp circular chromosome with 5749 predicted coding DNA sequences and an average GC content of 60.57%. TYGS analysis revealed that G166 belongs to Pseudomonas viciae. Phenotype analysis indicated that P. viciae G166 remarkably reduced the severity of grape white rot disease in the grapevine. After inoculation with C. diplodiella, more H₂O₂ and MDA accumulated in the leaves and resulted in decreases in the Pn and chlorophyll content. Conversely, G166-treated grapevine displayed less oxidative damage with lower H₂O₂ levels and MDA contents under the pathogen treatments. Subsequently, G166-treated grapevine could sustain a normal Pn and chlorophyll content. Moreover, the application of P. viciae G166 inhibited the growth of mycelia on detached leaves and berries, while more disease symptoms occurred in non-bacterized leaves and berries. Therefore, P. viciae G166 served as a powerful bioagent against grape white rot disease. Using antiSMASH prediction and genome comparisons, a relationship between non-ribosomal peptide synthase clusters and antifungal activity was found in the genome of P. viciae G166. Taken together, P. viciae G166 shows promising antifungal potential to improve fruit quality and yield in ecological agriculture. Full article

Heart failure (HF) with mid-range or mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) is a separate clinical entity in the HF spectrum, with a left ventricular ejection fraction ranging from 40 to 49%. While sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors have become the cornerstone therapy for the entire HF spectrum, there are a few clinical trials of HFmrEF. This prospective observational study was conducted at Dubrava University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia, from May 2021 to October 2023. We recruited 137 participants diagnosed with HFmrEF at admission. The majority were male, with a median age of 72 and overweight. A total of 110 participants were followed for 6 months and LVEF remained the same in the majority of patients (n = 62, 56.4%), improved in 32 patients (29.1%), and decreased in 3 patients (2.73%). A total of 64 participants were followed for 12 months: 39 remained the same (60.94%) and 25 improved. There were 13 deaths in (9.5%). While the empagliflozin group had a lower BMI at 6-month- and lower HbA1c at 12-month follow-up, there were no differences in death, HF hospitalizations, ER visits, or urinary tract infections in between groups. Despite recent and daily advances in the treatment of all HF phenotypes, HFmrEF still represents a challenge in everyday clinical practice. Full article

The vertebral cage has been widely used in posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The risk of cage dislodgment is high for patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to use a lumbar fusion model to investigate the effects of cage dislodgment on different cage arrangements after PLIF. Finite element analysis was used to compare three PEEK cage placements, together with the fibula-type cage, with respect to the four kinds of lumbar movements. The results revealed that a horizontal cage arrangement could provide a better ability to resist cage dislodgment. Overall lumbar flexion movements were confirmed to produce a greater amount of cage slip than the other three lumbar movements. The lower part of the lumbar fusion segment could create a greater amount of cage dislodgment for all of the lumbar movements. Using an autograft with a fibula as a vertebral cage cannot effectively reduce cage dislodgment. Considering the maximum movement type in lumbar flexion, we suggest that a horizontal arrangement of the PEEK cage might be considered when a single PEEK cage is placed in the fusion segment, as doing so can effectively reduce the extent of cage dislodgment. Full article

To understand the influences of emulsified fuel on ship exhaust emissions more comprehensively, the emissions of particulate matter (PM), nitrated, oxygenated and parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied on a ship main engine burning emulsified heavy fuel oil (EHFO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) as a reference. The results demonstrate that EHFO (emulsified heavy fuel oil) exhibits notable abilities to significantly reduce emissions of particulate matter (PM) and low molecular weight PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the gas phase, particularly showcasing maximum reductions of 13.99% and 40.5%, respectively. Nevertheless, burning EHFO could increase the emission of high molecular weight PAHs in fine particles and pose a consequent higher carcinogenic risk for individual particles. The total average (gaseous plus particulate) ΣBEQ of EHFO exhausts (41.5 μg/m³) was generally higher than that of HFO exhausts (18.7 μg/m³). Additionally, the combustion of EHFO (extra-heavy fuel oil) can significantly alter the emission quantity, composition, and particle-size distribution of PAH derivatives. These changes may be linked to molecular structures, such as zigzag configurations in C=O bonds. Our findings may favor the comprehensive environmental assessments on the onboard application of EHFO. Full article