The Effect of COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place Orders on Pediatric Craniofacial Trauma.

Objectives: To investigate the impacts of the shelter-in-place orders on the injury patterns among children with craniofacial trauma. Materials and Methods: Pediatric (<18 years old) craniofacial trauma cases presenting to a regional level I trauma center 1 year before and after the initiation of Washington's shelter-in-place order were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic and injury-related variables were recorded, and bivariate and logistic regression analyses were computed. Results: One hundred nineteen children were evaluated over 2-year period (46 pre- and 73 post-shelter-in-place and were comparable in age, gender, and ethnicity (p ≥ 0.17)). The distribution of injury mechanisms between pre- and post-shelter-in-place were significantly different (p = 0.02), with the largest proportional increase in falls (10.5%) and had higher rates of associated brain injury (p ≤ 0.02). After adjusting for effect modifiers and confounders, children presenting during the post-shelter-in-place period were more likely to have associated brain injuries (odds ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.11-10.6, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Among pediatric craniofacial injury cases, the shelter-in-place order was associated with a higher likelihood of brain injury and significant changes in injury mechanisms, with a higher proportion of falls.

Acquisition of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion System to Transform the Additive Manufacturing Value Chain

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has significant relevance to the missions of all branches of the Department of Defense (DoD) as it has the capability to bring parts to the warfighter more quickly and cost effectively However, DoD's goals of utilizing and deploying AM will not be achieved without substantial research and development to address the technology's current limitations, which exist at every facet of the AM value chain. The DURIP award, along with supplementary funding provided by Virginia Tech, enabled the acquisition of a reactive metal laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) AM system. The advanced AM system acquired through this program features open-access to all process parameters and features integrated in-situ monitoring technologies that enable research focused in increasing materials selection, creating new design for AM tools and methods, enhancing part quality through process-property-structure models, in-situ monitoring and post-processing techniques, and securing the platforms from cyber-physical vulnerabilities. The system is installed as a showcase piece in a newly created multidisciplinary educational and research space dedicated to preparing undergraduate and graduate students for future careers in Industry 4.0 technologies. As such, the new system will enable multi-disciplinary research and education across the entire value chain of AM.