Three Virtual Reality Environments for the Assessment of Executive Functioning Using Performance Scores and Kinematics: An Embodied and Ecological Approach to Cognition.

Virtual reality (VR) is an attractive technology for cognitive assessment, as it provides a more embodied experience compared with typical test situations, such as those using paper and pencil. In addition, VR can immerse individuals in complex situations similar to real-life ones, thereby improving the ecological validity (i.e., face validity) of the assessment. VR also offers improved scoring of tests as it facilitates the tracking of kinematic information and the temporal tracking of activities. This study assesses the correlation between scores on executive function assessments using standard neuropsychological tasks in paper-and-pencil format, on a tablet, and in three immersive VR environments, each designed to involve specific aspects of executive function. This study also aims to assess the correlation between these performance scores and a set of kinematic measures (speed, duration, and distance traveled by the hand) collected in VR. The outcomes, including performance scores and kinematic measures, correlate both with traditional assessment methods (such as paper and pencil, and computerized 2D tests) and with each other, suggesting their potential usefulness in clinical and research contexts. The discussion focuses on the advantages of embodied, situated, and spatialized tests for cognitive assessment and the benefits of kinematic tracking in VR tests for the quality of this assessment.

Microbial isolates and antibiotic sensitivity in patients hospitalized with odontogenic infections at a tertiary center over 10 years.

Objectives: This study investigated causative strains and their antibiotic sensitivity in patients who were hospitalized for maxillofacial odontogenic infections at a tertiary center in South Korea over the past 10 years with the aim of providing guidelines for the selection of appropriate empirical antibiotics. Materials and Methods: Patients with head and neck fascial space abscesses due to odontogenic infections who underwent incision and drainage surgery with pus culture tests between 2013 and 2022 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dankook University Hospital were included. The bacterial isolates and antibiotic sensitivity of each strain were analyzed for 2013-2022, 2013-2017, and 2018-2022. The affected fascial spaces were classified into primary, secondary, and deep neck spaces. Results: In the 192 patients included in this study, 302 strains were detected. Viridans streptococcus had the highest frequency (51.7%), followed by Prevotella spp. (16.9%), Staphylococcus spp. (5.6%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (4.6%). The identification rate of viridans streptococcus significantly increased from 41.8% in 2013-2017 to 60.9% in 2018-2022. Viridans streptococcus showed an antibiotic sensitivity of 80.5% to ampicillin; the sensitivity to penicillin antibiotics decreased over the study period. Antibiotic susceptibility was approximately 94% for third-generation cephalosporins. K. pneumoniae, which was identified at a high percentage in patients with deep neck space infection, showed increasing antibiotic resistance to most antibiotics over the study period. Conclusion: Viridans streptococcus was identified in head and neck fascial space abscesses with the highest frequency. Empirical antibiotics should be effective against this strain; penicillin antibiotics are considered inappropriate. For effective treatment of deep neck space abscesses, bacterial culture and antibiotic sensitivity tests performed as soon as possible are essential.

The Acceptance Behavior of Smart Home Health Care Services in South Korea: An Integrated Model of UTAUT and TTF.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of home health care to manage and monitor one's health status in a home environment became more crucial than ever. This change raised the need for smart home health care services (SHHSs) and their extension to everyday life. However, the factors influencing the acceptance behavior of SHHSs have been inadequately investigated and failed to address why users have the intention to use and adopt the services. This study aimed to analyze the influential factors and measure the behavioral acceptance of SHHSs in South Korea. This study adopted the integrated model of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and task-technology fit (TTF) to understand the behavioral acceptance of SHHSs from users' perceptions and task-technology fit. Multiple-item scales were established based on validated previous measurement scales and adjusted in accordance with SHHS context. Data from 487 valid samples were analyzed statistically, applying partial least square structural equation modeling. The results indicated that the integrated acceptance model explained 55.2% of the variance in behavioral intention, 44.9% of adoption, and 62.5% of the continuous intention to use SHHSs, supporting 11 of the 13 proposed hypotheses. Behavioral intention was positively influenced by users' perceptions on performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and functional conditions. Task-technology fit significantly influenced performance expectancy and behavioral intention, validating the linkage between the two models. Meanwhile, task characteristics were insignificant to determine task-technology fit, which might stem from complex home health care needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were not sufficiently resolved by current service technologies. The findings implied that the acceptance of SHHSs needs to be evaluated according to both the user perceptions of technologies and the matching fit of task and technology. Theoretically, this study supports the applicability of the integrated model of UTAUT and TTF to the domain of SHHS, and newly proposed the measurement items of TTF reflecting the domain specificity of SHHS, providing empirical evidence during the pandemic era in South Korea. Practically, the results could suggest to the planners and strategists of home health care services how to promote SHHS in one's health management.

Examining the Academic Trends in Neuropsychological Tests for Executive Functions Using Virtual Reality: Systematic Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: In neuropsychology, fully immersive virtual reality (VR) has been spotlighted as a promising tool. It is considered that VR not only overcomes the existing limitation of neuropsychological tests but is also appropriate for treating executive functions (EFs) within activities of daily living (ADL) due to its high ecological validity. While fully immersive VR offers new possibilities of neuropsychological tests, there are few studies that overview the intellectual landscape and academic trends in the research related to mainly targeted EFs with fully immersive VR. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to get an overview of the research trends that use VR in neuropsychological tests and to analyze the research trends using fully immersive VR neuropsychological tests with experimental articles. METHODS: This review was carried out according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles were searched in three web databases using keywords related to VR, EFs, and cognitive abilities. The study was conducted in two steps, keyword analysis and in-depth systematic review. In the web database search from 2000 to 2019, 1167 articles were initially collected, of which 234 articles in the eligibility phase were used to conduct keyword analysis and a total of 47 articles were included for systematic review. RESULTS: In keyword analysis, the number of articles focused on dementia including the keywords "MCI," "SCD," and "dementia" were highlighted over the period, rather than other symptoms. In addition, we identified that the use of behavioral and physiological data in virtual environments (VEs) has dramatically increased in recent studies. In the systematic review, we focused on the purpose of study, assessment, treatment, and validation of usability and structure. We found that treatment studies and uncategorized studies including presence and cybersickness issues have emerged in the recent period. In addition, the target symptoms and range of participants were diversified. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a continuously increasing interest in dealing with neuropsychology by using fully immersive VR. Target cognitive abilities have been diversified, as well as target symptoms. Moreover, the concept of embodied cognition was transplanted in this research area.

Protection and Installation of FBG Strain Sensor in Deep Boreholes for Subsurface Faults Behavior Monitoring.

Fiber optic sensors are gradually replacing electrical sensors in geotechnical applications owing to their immunity to electrical interference, durability, and cost-effectiveness. However, additional protective measures are required to prevent loss of functionality due to damage to the sensors, cables, or connection parts (splices and/or connectors) during installation and completion processes in borehole applications. We introduce two cases of installing fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensors in 1 km boreholes to monitor the behavior of deep subsurface faults. We present our fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) forming schemes to protect sensors and splices. We also present uniaxial load test and post-completion monitoring results for assessing the effects and performance of the protective measures. The uniaxial load test and post-completion monitoring show that FBG sensors are well protected by FRP forming without significant impact on sensor performance itself and that they are successfully installed in deep boreholes. In addition to summarizing our learning from experiences, we also suggest several points for consideration to improve the applicability of FBG sensors in borehole environment of the geotechnical field.

Determining the Intellectual Structure and Academic Trends of Smart Home Health Care Research: Coword and Topic Analyses.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, smart homes are being investigated as effective solutions for home health care. The increasing academic attention on smart home health care has primarily been on the development and application of smart home technologies. However, comprehensive studies examining the general landscape of diverse research areas for smart home health care are still lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the intellectual structure of smart home health care in a time series by conducting a coword analysis and topic analysis. Specifically, it investigates (1) the intellectual basis of smart home health care through overall academic status, (2) the intellectual foci through influential keywords and their evolutions, and (3) intellectual trends through primary topics and their evolutions. METHODS: Analyses were conducted in 5 steps: (1) data retrieval from article databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed) and the initial dataset preparation of 6080 abstracts from the year 2000 to the first half of 2019; (2) data preprocessing and refinement extraction of 25,563 words; (3) a descriptive analysis of the overall academic status and period division (ie, 4 stages of 3-year blocks); (4) coword analysis based on word co-occurrence networks for the intellectual foci; and (5) topic analysis for the intellectual trends based on latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling, word-topic networks, and researcher workshops. RESULTS: First, regarding the intellectual basis of smart home health care, recent academic interest and predominant journals and research domains were verified. Second, to determine the intellectual foci, primary keywords were identified and classified according to the degree of their centrality values. Third, 5 themes pertaining to the topic evolution emerged: (1) the diversification of smart home health care research topics; (2) the shift from technology-oriented research to technological convergence research; (3) the expansion of application areas and system functionality of smart home health care; (4) the increased focus on system usability, such as service design and experiences; and (5) the recent adaptation of the latest technologies in health care. Based on these findings, the pattern of technology diffusion in smart home health care research was determined as the adaptation of technologies, the proliferation of application areas, and an extension into system design and service experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The research findings provide academic and practical value in 3 aspects. First, they promote a comprehensive understanding of the smart home health care domain by identifying its multifaceted intellectual structure in a time series. Second, they can help clinicians discern the development and dispersion level of their respective disciplines. Third, the pattern of technology diffusion in smart home health care could help scholars comprehend current and future research trends and identify research opportunities based on upcoming research waves of newly adapted technologies in smart home health care.

Quality of life of patients with nasal bone fracture after closed reduction.

BACKGROUND: Closed reduction is the standard treatment for nasal bone fractures, which are the most common type of facial bone fractures. We investigated the effect of closed reduction on quality of life. METHODS: The 15-dimensional health-related quality of life survey was administered to 120 patients who underwent closed reduction under general anesthesia for nasal bone fractures from February 2018 to December 2019, on both the day after surgery and 3 months after surgery. Three months postoperatively, the presence or absence of five nasal symptoms (nose obstruction, snoring, pain, nasal secretions, and aesthetic dissatisfaction) was also evaluated. RESULTS: The quality of life items that showed significant changes between immediately after surgery and 3 months postoperatively were breathing, sleeping, speech, excretion, and discomfort. Low scores were found at 3 months for breathing, sleeping, and distress. There were 31 patients (25.83%) with nose obstruction, 25 (20.83%) with snoring, 12 (10.00%), with pain, 11 (9.17%) with nasal secretions, and 29 (24.17%) with aesthetic dissatisfaction. CONCLUSION: Closed reduction affected patients' quality of life, although most aspects improved significantly after 3 months. However, it was not possible to rule out deterioration of quality of life due to complications and dissatisfaction after surgery.

Functional Electrical Stimulation Controlled by Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface for Rehabilitation.

Sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) has gained importance in recent years for the rehabilitation of motor deficits. However, there still remain many research questions to be addressed, such as unstructured Motor Imagery (MI) training procedures; a lack of methods to classify different MI tasks in a single hand, such as grasping and opening; and difficulty in decoding voluntary MI-evoked SMRs compared to FES-driven passive-movement-evoked SMRs. To address these issues, a study that is composed of two phases was conducted to develop and validate an SMR-based BCI-FES system with 2-class MI tasks in a single hand (Phase 1), and investigate the feasibility of the system with stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients (Phase 2). The results of Phase 1 showed that the accuracy of classifying 2-class MIs (approximately 71.25%) was significantly higher than the true chance level, while that of distinguishing voluntary and passive SMRs was not. In Phase 2, where the patients performed goal-oriented tasks in a semi-asynchronous mode, the effects of the FES existence type and adaptive learning on task performance were evaluated. The results showed that adaptive learning significantly increased the accuracy, and the accuracy after applying adaptive learning under the No-FES condition (61.9%) was significantly higher than the true chance level. The outcomes of the present research would provide insight into SMR-based BCI-controlled FES systems that can connect those with motor disabilities (e.g., stroke and TBI patients) to other people by greatly improving their quality of life. Recommendations for future work with a larger sample size and kinesthetic MI were also presented.

Mapping the intellectual structure of research on surgery with mixed reality: Bibliometric network analysis (2000-2019).

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to view research trends on surgery with mixed reality, and present the intellectual structure using bibliometric network analysis for the period 2000-2019. METHODS: Analyses are implemented in the following four steps: (1) literature dataset acquisition from article database (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and IEEE digital library), (2) dataset pre-processing and refinement, (3) network construction and visualization, and (4) analysis and interpretation. Descriptive analysis, bibliometric network analysis, and in-depth qualitative analysis were conducted. RESULTS: The 14,591 keywords of 5897 abstracts data were ultimately used to ascertain the intellectual structure of research on surgery with mixed reality. The dynamics of the evolution of keywords in the structure throughout the four periods is summarized with four aspects: (a) maintaining a predominant utilization tool for training, (b) widening clinical application area, (c) reallocating the continuum of mixed reality, and (d) steering advanced imaging and simulation technology. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study can provide valuable insights into technology adoption and research trends of mixed reality in surgery. These findings can help clinicians to overview prospective medical research on surgery using mixed reality. Hospitals can also understand the periodical maturity of technology of mixed reality in surgery, and, therefore, these findings can suggest an academic landscape to make a decision in adopting new technologies in surgery.

A retrospective study of changes in skin cancer characteristics over 11 years.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of skin cancer, which is primarily caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has steadily increased in recent years. The authors of the present study sought to investigate changes in the epidemiology of skin cancer by conducting a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with skin cancer who received related care at a single medical institution.
. METHODS: The present study included patients who were diagnosed with skin cancer and received treatment at Gyeongsang National University Hospital from 2008 to 2018. The site and type of skin cancer, the number of patients with skin cancer each year, the sex and sex ratio of the patients, and changes in patients' age at first diagnosis were examined through retrospective chart reviews.
. RESULTS: The number of patients with skin cancer significantly increased, but statistically significant changes were not found in patients' sex, skin cancer sites, or the types of skin cancer. However, patients' age at the first diagnosis of skin cancer showed a statistically significant decrease starting in 2015.
. CONCLUSION: In this study, the number of patients with skin cancer increased over time. However, patients' age at first diagnosis has decreased since 2015. Therefore, younger patients should take care to prevent skin cancer, and further research on the causes of skin cancer in younger patients is needed.

Resilience in the Surgical Scheduling to Support Adaptive Scheduling System.

Operating Room (OR) managers frequently encounter uncertainties related to real-time scheduling, especially on the day of surgery. It is necessary to enable earlier identification of uncertainties occurring in the perioperative environment. This study aims to propose a framework for resilient surgical scheduling by identifying uncertainty factors affecting the real-time surgical scheduling through a mixed-methods study. We collected the pre- and post-surgical scheduling data for twenty days and a one-day observation data in a top-tier general university hospital in South Korea. Data were compared and analyzed for any changes related to the dimensions of uncertainty. The observations in situ of surgical scheduling were performed to confirm our findings from the quantitative data. Analysis was divided into two phases of fundamental uncertainties categorization (conceptual, technical and personal) and uncertainties leveling for effective decision-making strategies. Pre- and post-surgical scheduling data analysis showed that unconfirmed patient medical conditions and emergency cases are the main causes of frequent same-day surgery schedule changes, with derived factors that affect the scheduling pattern (time of surgery, overtime surgery, surgical procedure changes and surgery duration). The observation revealed how the OR manager controlled the unexpected events to prevent overtime surgeries. In conclusion, integrating resilience approach to identifying uncertainties and managing event changes can minimize potential risks that may compromise the surgical personnel and patients' safety, thereby promoting higher resilience in the current system. Furthermore, this strategy may improve coordination among personnel and increase surgical scheduling efficiency.

Impact of intelligent healthscape quality on nurse job outcomes and job satisfaction: A test of the moderating effect of innovativeness.

AIM: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the impact of intelligent healthscape quality on job outcomes and job satisfaction via the pleasure feeling of nurses, a positive emotion towards the work environment. The moderating effect of innovativeness as a personal trait is also investigated. BACKGROUND: High quality of intelligent healthscape can improve nurses' job outcomes and satisfaction. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional, survey design was used. A total of 222 experienced nurses from a general hospital were surveyed in their working environment, pleasure feeling, job outcomes and job satisfaction. Structural equation modelling was used to test the theoretical model and hypotheses between constructs. RESULTS: The final model explained 88% of the variance in nurse job outcomes and job satisfaction. The result shows that (a) intelligent healthscape quality had a positive effect on nurse job outcomes and job satisfaction through pleasure feeling, and all the paths of the suggested model were statistically significant. Moreover, (b) a pleasure feeling showed stronger effects on job outcomes in nurses with higher levels of innovativeness. CONCLUSIONS: This model provides a better understanding of the mechanisms between perceived nursing work environment, job outcomes and psychological empowerment. Based on these results, nurse managers can facilitate job satisfaction of nurses by establishing a highly advanced and supportive work environment. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The results of this study provide empirical evidence linking intelligent healthscape quality, pleasure feeling, job outcomes and job satisfaction derived from a theoretical model of intelligent healthscape quality. These findings further elucidate the significance of the technology embedded physical nurse work environment as well as provide new academic approaches by demonstrating novel applications of a theoretical framework.

The clinical usefulness of closed reduction of nasal bone using only a periosteal elevator with a rubber band.

BACKGROUND: Closed reduction of nasal fracture with various instrument is performed to treat nasal fracture. Depending on the type of nasal fracture and the situation in which it is being operated, the surgeon will determine the surgical tool. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a periosteal elevator (PE) was a proper device to perform closed reduction for patients with simple nasal fractures. METHODS: From March 2018 to December 2018, 50 cases of simple nasal bone fracture underwent closed reduction performed by a single surgeon. These patients were divided into two groups randomly: nasal bone reduction was performed using only PE (freer) and nasal bone reduction was performed using Walsham, Asch forcep, and Boies elevator (non-freer, non-PE). RESULTS: The paranasal sinus computed tomography was performed on patients before and after operation to carry out an accurate measurement of reduction distance at the same level. According to the results, the interaction between instruments and fracture types had a significant influence on reduction distance (p = 0.021). To be specific, reduction distance was significantly (p= 0.004) increased by 2.157 mm when PE was used to treat patients with partial displacement compared to that when non-PEs were used. CONCLUSION: Closed reduction using PE and other elevator is generally an effective treatment for nasal fracture. In partial-displacement type of simple nasal fracture, closed reduction using PE can have considerable success in comparison with using classic instruments.

Immediate regraft of the remnant skin on the donor site in split-thickness skin grafting.

BACKGROUND: Skin defects of head and neck need reconstruction using various local flaps. In some cases, surgeons should consider skin graft for large skin defect. It is important to heal skin graft and donor sites. The authors investigated wound healing mechanisms at the donor sites with split-thick-ness skin graft (STSG). In this study, the authors compared two types of immediate regraft including sheets and islands for the donor site after facial skin graft using remnant skin. METHODS: The author reviewed 10 patients who underwent STSG, from March 2015 to May 2017, for skin defects in the craniofacial area. The donor site was immediately covered with the two types using remnant skin after harvesting skin onto the recipient site. Depending on the size of the remnant skin, we conducted regraft with the single sheet (n= 5) and island types (n= 5). RESULTS: On postoperative day 1 and 3 months, the scar formation was evaluated using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS). Total POSAS and VSS scores for the island type were lower than in single sheet group after 3 months postoperatively. There was significant difference in specific categories of POSAS and VSS. CONCLUSION: This study showed a reduction in scar formation following immediate regrafting of the remnant skin at the donor site after STSG surgery. Particularly, the island type is useful for clinical application to facilitate healing of donor sites with STSG.

An Ecological Approach to Smart Homes for Health Care Services: Conceptual Framework of a Smart Servicescape Wheel.

BACKGROUND: Smart homes are considered effective solutions for home health care for the elderly, as smart home technologies can reduce care costs and improve elderly residents' independence. To develop a greater understanding of smart homes for health care services (SHHSs), this study accentuated the necessity of ecological approaches with an emphasis on environmental constraints. This study was based on 2 rationales: (1) users are inclined to perceive the service quality and service experience from environments (ie, servicescape) owing to the intangibility of health care and the pervasiveness of smart home technologies, and (2) both service domains are complex adaptive systems in which diversified and undefined service experiences-not only a few intended service flows-can be generated by complex combinations of servicescape elements. OBJECTIVE: This study proposed the conceptual framework of a Smart Servicescape Wheel (SSW) as an ecological approach delineating the extensive spectrum of environmental constraints in SHHSs. METHODS: The SSW framework was established based on a literature review. RESULTS: Generally divided by perceptible and imperceptible servicescapes, the SSW consists of the perceptible Physical scape (ie, hardware components, environmental cues, and human states) and Social scape (ie, service relationships and social relationships) as well as the imperceptible Datascape (ie, computing intelligence, databases, and communication networks). Following the ecological approach, each category of the SSW is subdivided and defined at the level of components or functions. CONCLUSIONS: The SSW's strengths lie in the various application opportunities for SHHSs. In terms of service planning and development, the SSW can be utilized to (1) establish the requirements for SHHS development, (2) associate with work domain analysis by defining component layers, and (3) understand the real contexts of SHHSs for the enhanced prediction of diverse service experiences. Regarding service management, it can be applied to develop measurement items for the operation and evaluation of SHHSs.

Reconstruction of nasal ala and tip following skin cancer resection.

BACKGROUND: Defects of the nasal ala and tip have a complex three-dimensional structure that makes them challenging to reconstruct. Many reconstructive options have been described for nasal ala and tip defects, ranging from primary closure to local flaps and skin grafts. However, it is difficult to determine which method will yield the best cosmetic results in each individual case. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine which surgical procedures for reconstructing defects of the nasal ala and tip have better cosmetic results. METHODS: From 2008 to 2018, 111 patients underwent surgery to reconstruct skin defects after resection of skin cancer in the nasal ala or tip. Their charts were reviewed to obtain data on age, sex, surgical location, size of the defect, surgical method, and cosmetic results using a visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: For nasal ala reconstruction, the most commonly used surgical technique was the nasolabial flap (n= 42). This method also had the highest VAS score (7/10). The most commonly selected surgical method for nasal tip reconstruction was the bilobed flap (n= 13), and bilobed flaps and primary closure had the highest VAS score (7/10). CONCLUSION: Nasolabial flaps showed excellent cosmetic results for the reconstruction of nasal ala defects, while primary closure and bilobed flaps yielded excellent cosmetic results for the reconstruction of nasal tip defects.

Distributed Temperature Sensing Monitoring of Well Completion Processes in a CO2 Geological Storage Demonstration Site.

The Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) profiles obtained during well completion of a CO2 monitoring well were analyzed to characterize each well completion process in terms of temperature anomalies. Before analysis, we corrected the depth by redistributing the discrepancy, and then explored three temperature calibration methods. Consequently, we confirmed the depth discrepancy could be well corrected with conventional error redistribution techniques. Among three temperature calibration methods, the conventional method shows the best results. However, pointwise methods using heat coil or in-well divers also showed reliable accuracy, which allows them to be alternatives when the conventional method is not affordable. The DTS data revealed that each well completion processes can be characterized by their own distinctive temperature anomaly patterns. During gravel packing, the sand progression was monitorable with clear step-like temperature change due to the thermal bridge effect of sand. The DTS data during the cementing operation, also, clearly showed the progression up of the cement slurry and the exothermic reaction associated with curing of cement. During gas lift operations, we could observe the effect of casing transition as well as typical highly oscillating thermal response to gas lifting.

High Oxygen Exchange to Music Indicates Auditory Distractibility in Acquired Brain Injury: An fNIRS Study with a Vector-Based Phase Analysis.

Attention deficits due to auditory distractibility are pervasive among patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). It remains unclear, however, whether attention deficits following ABI specific to auditory modality are associated with altered haemodynamic responses. Here, we examined cerebral haemodynamic changes using functional near-infrared spectroscopy combined with a topological vector-based analysis method. A total of thirty-seven participants (22 healthy adults, 15 patients with ABI) performed a melodic contour identification task (CIT) that simulates auditory distractibility. Findings demonstrated that the melodic CIT was able to detect auditory distractibility in patients with ABI. The rate-corrected score showed that the ABI group performed significantly worse than the non-ABI group in both CIT1 (target contour identification against environmental sounds) and CIT2 (target contour identification against target-like distraction). Phase-associated response intensity during the CITs was greater in the ABI group than in the non-ABI group. Moreover, there existed a significant interaction effect in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during CIT1 and CIT2. These findings indicated that stronger hemodynamic responses involving oxygen exchange in the left DLPFC can serve as a biomarker for evaluating and monitoring auditory distractibility, which could potentially lead to the discovery of the underlying mechanism that causes auditory attention deficits in patients with ABI.

Twisted Dual-Cycle Fiber Optic Bending Loss Characteristics for Strain Measurement.

The intensity-based fiber optic sensor (FOS) head using twisted dual-cycle bending loss is proposed and experimentally demonstrate. The bending loss characteristics depend on the steel wire radius, number, and distance. To determine the effects of these parameters, two samples in each of seven configuration cases of the proposed FOS head were bonded to fiber reinforced plastics coupons, and tensile and flexural strain tests were repeated five times for each coupon. The bending loss of the manufactured FOS heads was measured and converted to the tensile and flexural strain as a function of configuration cases. The measurement range, sensitivity, and average measurement errors of the tensile load and flexural strain were 4.5 kN and 1,760 µÎµ, 0.70 to 3.99 dB/kN and 0.930 to 6.554 dB/mm, and 57.7 N, and 42.6 µÎµ, respectively. The sensing range of FOS head were 82 to 138 mm according to configuration cases. These results indicate that it is possible to measure load, tensile strain, and flexural strain using the proposed FOS head, and demonstrate that the sensitivities, the operating ranges, and the sensing range can be adjusted depending on the deformation characteristics of the measurement target.

Two-phase flow visualization under reservoir conditions for highly heterogeneous conglomerate rock: A core-scale study for geologic carbon storage.

Geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered a viable strategy for significantly reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions into the atmosphere; however, understanding the flow mechanisms in various geological formations is essential for safe storage using this technique. This study presents, for the first time, a two-phase (CO2 and brine) flow visualization under reservoir conditions (10 MPa, 50 °C) for a highly heterogeneous conglomerate core obtained from a real CO2 storage site. Rock heterogeneity and the porosity variation characteristics were evaluated using X-ray computed tomography (CT). Multiphase flow tests with an in-situ imaging technology revealed three distinct CO2 saturation distributions (from homogeneous to non-uniform) dependent on compositional complexity. Dense discontinuity networks within clasts provided well-connected pathways for CO2 flow, potentially helping to reduce overpressure. Two flow tests, one under capillary-dominated conditions and the other in a transition regime between the capillary and viscous limits, indicated that greater injection rates (potential causes of reservoir overpressure) could be significantly reduced without substantially altering the total stored CO2 mass. Finally, the capillary storage capacity of the reservoir was calculated. Capacity ranged between 0.5 and 4.5%, depending on the initial CO2 saturation.