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Item Rheological characterization and print quality studies of gelatin/collagen I/PEGDA hydrogels(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2024) Bartholomew, Kami; Mahapatro, AnilBioprinting is an up-and-coming technology that uses the basis of additive manufacturing and applies it to the field of tissue engineering. Bioprinting is used to create 3D models of diseased tissue and organs, test cellular responses to drug therapies, and create potentially transplantable organs and vasculature. Bioprinting has gained increasing interest especially in drug discovery, as the traditional 2D cell culture models have been shown to produce results that are not mimicked in animal and human trials. Bioprinters use materials called bioinks, developed from hydrogels which can contain cells and biological factors. While there are commonly used bioinks, there is a need for the development of a diverse range of bioinks for varying applications. In this study, an alternative bioink was developed. The formulations included gelatin, collagen I, and varying amounts of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). These formulations were subject to rheological characterization and print quality analysis. Formulations with higher concentrations of PEGDA had higher degrees of shear-thinning, higher viscosity recovery, lower viscosities, and less dominant gel behavior. The print quality studies showed that the formulations with lower concentrations of PEGDA had better printability, print accuracy, and print fidelity. Formulation P5 had the best overall print quality. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Strength of relationship between body mass index and gross motor capacity in youth with intellectual disabilities(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2024) Pitetti, Kenneth H.; Bertapelli, Fabio; Miller, Ruth A.; Loovis, Michael; do Amaral-Junior, Wilson D.; de Barros-Filho, Marcos M.; Guerra-Junior, GilBackground: Adequate skill levels of gross motor capacity affect activities of daily living, participation in recreational activities and general physical activity levels of youths (7–21 years). Most studies of typically developing youths have reported significant negative relationships between gross motor capacity and body mass index. The latter findings are especially of concern for youths with intellectual disabilities in that it has been estimated that 61% of children and 66% of adolescents were classified as overweight/obese. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the relationship between body mass index and gross motor capacity among youths with mild to moderate intellectual disability (ID). Methods: Components of the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2) were used for designated aspects of gross motor capacity: six items for upper limb coordination (ULC); seven items for balance (BAL); six items for bilateral coordination (BLC); and one item for agility (A-2). Participants consisted of 654 youths (438 men), ages 8–21 years with ID. Participants were divided into pre-puberty and post-puberty men (post ≥12 years) and women (post ≥10 years of age). Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) was determined by height and weight measurements on the day of testing. A Kendall's tau correlation coefficient (τ) was used to determine the strength of the relationship between body mass index and gross motor capacity (BOT-2 test scores). Results: The τ values for both pre-puberty and post-puberty for all BAL, BLC, A-2 tests and for three of the six ULC tests were negligible to very weak (τ = 0 to ±0.19). Higher τ values were seen for pre-puberty youths in three of the ULC tests, but they fell within the weak range (τ < 0.24). When combining all pre-puberty and post-puberty participants, τ values were in the negligible to very weak range for all tests. Conclusion: The strength of relationship between body mass index and gross motor capacity as measured by the BOT-2 subtest item scores used in this study is very weak and suggests that they are not clinically relevant. © 2024 John Wiley & Sons and MENCAP.Item Workers' compensation injuries in aviation manufacturing in the state of Kansas, 2014-2022(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Manning, Christin; Jorgensen, Michael J.Introduction: Workers' compensation injuries entail burdensome financial and social costs. This study's objective was to describe cost and frequency of workplace injuries in aviation manufacturing in the state of Kansas using workers' compensation data. Manufacturing incurs more workers' compensation claims in Kansas than any other industry, and aviation contributes more of those claims than any other sub sector. Method: Workers' compensation insurance and reporting are required in the state of Kansas. Data were provided by the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and included all closed workers' compensation claims entailing indemnity and medical costs filed in the state from 2014 to 2022. Cost of claim data were normalized to 2022 U.S. dollars and data were analyzed as a function of percentage and claim cost by body part, type of injury, cause of injury, specific musculoskeletal disorder type, and as a function of age and gender injury rates. Results: Aviation claims entailed a median total cost of $26,941 and represented 8% of all closed claims filed in the state from 2014 to 2022. The grand total direct cost over the nine-year period was $75,404,147. Medical costs comprised 48.6% of all costs, indemnity 45.0%, and legal 6.4%. The most frequently injured body part was the hand/wrist (35.9%) followed by the shoulder (20.6%), and the most expensive body parts were related to the back. Overexertion (38.6%) was the most common cause followed by repetitive motion (22.8%). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders were the most common type accounting for 67.4% of all claims. Men and workers aged 55-64 incurred slightly higher claim rates than average. A sharp decrease in number of claims closed in 2021 coincided with production shutdowns the previous year related to the Covid-19 pandemic and design issues. Conclusions: Aviation manufacturing is a key industry in Kansas and this study is the first known to describe costs and frequencies of workplace injuries in the sector using workers' compensation data. Practical applications: This guide to the most problematic and costly injuries in aviation manufacturing helps practitioners prioritize prevention strategies to most effectively reduce workplace injury and helps safety and health practitioners in prioritizing prevention efforts to reduce the most severe and costly aviation manufacturing injuries and illnesses. It also brings attention to some special considerations when working with safety data from 2020 to 2022 related to the Covid-19 pandemic. © 2024 National Safety Council and Elsevier LtdItem Cardiovascular health monitoring using multiple conformal photoplethysmography devices(SPIE, 2024) Lee, Y.Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical non-invasive measuring technique and uses a light source and a photodetector to monitor regional blood volume changes in the vessel near the skin. It is a widespread clinical application, and traditionally, PPG signals are used to monitor oxygen saturation and heart rate. However, it can be utilized to extract further valuable information such as blood pressures, cardiac outputs, autonomic functions, and various cardiovascular-related diseases. Overall, PPG has great potential for providing a simple and convenient but versatile diagnostic tool as an alternative of traditional cardiovascular health monitoring. However, very limited studies have been performed to understand the complex physiological variability in PPG signals measured simultaneously at different body sites. In addition, current PPG devices are relatively bulky and require adhesives or fasteners to collect reliable PPG signals, which make them applicable only for specific body locations and not suitable for long-term, continuous ambulatory monitoring. In this present work, an ultrathin, flexible conformal PPG device is developed. The overall thickness of the flexible circuit is maintained less than 25 µm in order that the circuit can demonstrate a high level of flexibility and conform to the curvilinear surfaces of the skin. Multiple conformal PPG devices are laminated on forehead, wrist, or ankle to monitor PPG signals in a synchronized manner. In addition, the similar setting of conformal PPG devices is used to evaluate cardiovascular changes induced by lower body negative pressures. Overall, our finding demonstrates the feasibility of our multiple conformal PPG device network as an accurate, low-profile, and low-resource monitoring devices for cardiovascular health. © 2024 SPIE.Item Comparison of multi-task ergonomic assessment methods for risk of upper extremity and low back musculoskeletal disorders(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Jorgensen, Michael J.; Martinez, Andrea; Hakansson, Nils A.Work-related musculoskeletal disorder of upper extremity multi-task assessment methods (Revised Strain Index [RSI], Distal Upper Extremity Tool [DUET]) and manual handling multi-task assessment methods (Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation [RNLE], Lifting Fatigue Failure Tool [LiFFT]) were compared. RSI and DUET showed a strong correlation (rs = 0.933, p < 0.001) where increasing risk factor exposure resulted in increasing outputs for both methods. RSI and DUET demonstrated fair agreement (? = 0.299) in how the two methods classified outputs into risk categories (high, moderate or low) when assessing the same tasks. The RNLE and LiFFT showed a strong correlation (rs = 0.903, p = 0.001) where increasing risk factor exposure resulted in increasing outputs, and moderate agreement (? = 0.574) in classifying the outputs into risk categories (high, moderate or low) when assessing the same tasks. The multi-task assessment methods provide consistent output magnitude rankings in terms of increasing exposure, however some differences exist between how different methods classify the outputs into risk categories. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd