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Background Radiation shielding is crucial for protecting healthcare professionals from scatter radiation during x‐ray procedures. Conventional lead aprons, although effective, are limited by their high weight, low flexibility, and potential toxicity. Recent developments in composite materials using elements such as tungsten (W), bismuth (Bi), tin (Sn), antimony (Sb), and barium (Ba) offer promising nonlead alternatives with comparable radiation protection, while significantly improving both weight reduction and flexibility. Purpose This study evaluates various applicable materials in lead free radiation shielding, including W, Bi, Ba, Sn, Gd, and Sb composites to determine the weight reduction in these types of aprons. By investigating the materials' compositions for radiation attenuation, the present study aims to contribute to the ongoing development of safer, lighter, and more flexible x‐ray shielding solutions. Methods In this study, the mass and thickness of various nonlead shielding aprons were calculated for two standard protection levels included 0.35 and 0.5 mm lead equivalence across three diagnostic energy spectrums (80, 100, and 120 kVp). Python‐based coding was employed to improve the accuracy of determining lead‐equivalent thicknesses, while MCNP was utilized to evaluate the radiation attenuation and to simulate x‐ray spectra. The generated spectra were further validated against reference data provided by SpekPy, one of the most advanced models recommended by the AAPM. Results The results showed that increasing the lead equivalence from 0.35 to 0.5 mm increased shield mass by approximately 30%–50% for all materials. Certain composites, such as W–Sn–Gd2O3–PVC and Bi2O3–Sn–Gd2O3–PVC, demonstrated a favorable mass, maintaining competitive protection with noticeably lower mass than traditional lead‐based shields. W–Sn–Gd2O3–PVC had the lowest mass in the 100 and 120 kVp spectra, and it had the lowest mass after Bi2O3–Sn–Gd2O3–PVC in the 80 kVp spectrum. On the other side, Bi2O3–BaSO4–PVC and W‐BaSO4–PVC composites were the heaviest shields. These findings are consistent with prior literature reporting that nonlead aprons can achieve better attenuation in the diagnostic range while reducing user fatigue. Our data further confirm that composite designs can be optimized to balance shielding efficacy and ergonomics. Compared to previous studies, our results reinforce the potential of multi‐element composites to achieve equivalent or superior attenuation performance per unit mass. Conclusion In conclusion, nonlead radiation shields, particularly those based on W–Sn–Gd2O3‐PVC or Bi2O3–Sn–Gd2O3–PVC blends, can provide adequate radiation protection while offering substantial ergonomic benefits. Their reduced weight together with high flexibility may lower the risk of musculoskeletal strain in clinical staff, making them a viable alternative to traditional lead aprons in routine diagnostic practice.

Interventional radiology activities and other medical practices using ionising radiation have become increasingly prevalent. In this context, the use of anti-X aprons, in association with awkward postures and non-ergonomic working conditions, might cause the onset of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This research aims to evaluate the evidence about the correlation between wearing anti-X aprons and work-related MSDs. A systematic scoping review of articles published between 1990 and 2020 was conducted by searching the PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Twelve cross-sectional studies, conducted among interventional physicians, nurses, and technicians, were finally included. Five studies primarily investigated the association between use of anti-X aprons and MSDs, showing that a higher prevalence of disorders was not always associated with the use of protective aprons. No studies investigated the impact of anti-X aprons on fitness for work assessment, particularly in subjects with MSDs. There is no complete agreement about the correlation between anti-X apron-wearing and the occurrence of MSDs, although the possible discomfort of workers using anti-X aprons appears more evident. Further studies are needed to objectify the role of these protective devices in the genesis of MSDs and to offer specific ergonomic solutions for healthcare workers.

Application of pesticides to amaranth seed can provide a mode of action to manage specific insect pests and seedborne pathogens and improve yield, depending on cultivar and a pesticide’s active ingredients. The impact of two commercially available seed treatments on germination and leaf yield of eight advanced lines and a local cultivar, represented in four Amaranthus species ( Amaranthus blitum L., Amaranthus hybridus L., Amaranthus dubius Mart. Ex Thell., and Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) cultivated in Kenya were evaluated. Seeds of each line were treated with either a commercial formulation of Apron Star™ (thiamethoxam 20 g/kg + metalaxyl-M 20 g/kg + difenoconazole, 2 g/kg) or Monceren™ (imidacloprid 233 g/L + pencycuron 50 g/L + thiram, 107 g/L) or remained untreated as a control. The effect of these treatments was determined 1 day after application and after 3 months of storage, a storage time often used by subsistence farmers in Kenya. Seeds were stored in a seed storeroom 25 ± 1 °C, 60% to 70% relative humidity (RH), and a 12-hour light/12-hour dark photoperiod. A higher percentage of germination, 61.6% was observed for seeds of the A. blitum line treated with Apron Star and a lower percentage of 1.5% occurred with untreated seed of A. dubius line. Significant interactions of line or cultivar with seed pesticide application and line or cultivar with storage time were observed for fresh leaf weight, and pesticide application or storage time did not provide consistent increases in yield across lines or cultivar. The highest fresh leaf weights occurred with ‘Terere’, which was similar to lines of A. hybridus . Under high tunnel conditions, plants from amaranth seeds treated with either pesticide had higher leaf production than untreated seeds, and plants from seeds stored 1 day after Apron Star application and 3 months after Monceren application were higher than untreated seed stored for one day or 3 months.

Abstract Sleep plays a significant role in the mental and physical development of children. Emerging evidence in animals and human adults indicates a relationship between sleep and the gut microbiota; however, it is unclear whether the sleep of preschoolers during a key developmental period, associates with features of their gut microbiota. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between sleep and gut microbiota in preschool-aged children (4.37 ± 0.48 years, n = 143). Sleep measures included total night-time sleep (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), and wake-time after sleep onset (WASO) assessed using actigraphy. Beta-diversity differences between children with low and high TST (p = .048) suggest gut microbiota community differences. Particularly, relative abundance of Bifidobacterium was higher in the high TST group and Bacteroides, was higher in children who had greater SE and less WASO (LDA score >2). In contrast, some Lachnospiraceae members including Blautia and Coprococcus 1 were associated with shorter night-time sleep duration and less efficiency, respectively. We also found a group of fecal metabolites, including specific neuroactive compounds and immunomodulating metabolites were associated with greater sleep efficiency and less time awake at night. Notably, tryptophan and its metabolizing products were higher in children who had higher SE or lower WASO (LDA score >2); concentration of propionate was higher in children with less WASO (p = .036). Overall, our results reveal a novel association between sleep and gut microbiota in preschool-aged children. Longer night-time sleep and greater sleep efficiency were associated with specific commensal bacteria that may regulate sleep through modulating neurotransmitter metabolism and the immune system.

Caesarean section (C-section) deliveries account for nearly 30% of births annually with emergency C-sections accounting for 7–9% of all births. Studies have linked C-sections to postpartum depression (PPD). PPD is linked to reduced quality of parent-child interaction, and adverse effects on maternal and child health. New mothers’ perceptions of more negative childbirth experiences, such as unplanned/emergency C-sections, are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which in turn is related to PPD. Our objectives were to determine: (1) the association between C-section type (unplanned/emergency vs. planned) and PPD symptoms, and (2) if postnatal PTSD symptoms mediate this association. Employing secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from 354 mother-child dyads between 2009 and 2013 from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study, conditional process modeling was employed. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ) were administered at three months postpartum, to assess for postpartum depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The direct effect of emergency C-section on PPD symptoms was non-significant in adjusted and non-adjusted models; however, the indirect effect of emergency C-section on PPD symptoms with PTSD symptoms as a mediator was significant after controlling for prenatal depression symptoms, social support, and SES (β = 0.17 (SE = 0.11), 95% CI [0.03, 0.42]). This suggests that mothers who experienced an emergency or unplanned C-section had increased PTSD scores of nearly half a point (0.47) compared to mothers who underwent a planned C-section, even after adjustment. Overall, emergency C-section was indirectly associated with PPD symptoms, through PTSD symptoms. Findings suggest that PTSD symptoms may be a mechanism through which emergency C-sections are associated with the development of PPD symptoms.

With the rapid development and increasing demands of civil aviation, the accurate detection of key aircraft components and staff on airport aprons is of great significance for ensuring the safety of flights and improving the operational efficiency of airports. However, the existing detection models for airport aprons are relatively scarce, and their accuracy is insufficient. Based on YOLOv5, we propose an improved object detection algorithm, called DT-YOLO, to address these issues. We first built a dataset called AAD-dataset for airport apron scenes by randomly sampling and capturing surveillance videos taken from the real world to support our research. We then introduced a novel module named D-CTR in the backbone, which integrates the global feature extraction capability of Transformers with the limited receptive field of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to enhance the feature representation ability and overall performance. A dropout layer was introduced to reduce redundant and noisy features, prevent overfitting, and improve the model’s generalization ability. In addition, we utilized deformable convolutions in CNNs to extract features from multi-scale and deformed objects, further enhancing the model’s adaptability and detection accuracy. In terms of loss function design, we modified GIoULoss to address its discontinuities and instability in certain scenes, which effectively mitigated gradient explosion and improved the stability of the model. Finally, experiments were conducted on the self-built AAD-dataset. The results demonstrated that DT-YOLO significantly improved the mean average precision (mAP). Specifically, the mAP increased by 2.6 on the AAD-dataset; moreover, other metrics also showed a certain degree of improvement, including detection speed, AP50, AP75, and so on, which comprehensively proves that DT-YOLO can be applied for real-time object detection in airport aprons, ensuring the safe operation of aircraft and efficient management of airports.

Interventional radiology (IVR) procedures are associated with increased radiation exposure and injury risk. Furthermore, radiation eye injury (i.e., cataract) in IVR staff have also been reported. It is crucial to protect the eyes of IVR physicians from X-ray radiation exposure. Many IVR physicians use protective Pb eyeglasses to reduce occupational eye exposure. However, the shielding effects of Pb eyeglasses are inadequate. We developed a novel shield for the face (including eyes) of IVR physicians. The novel shield consists of a neck and face guard (0.25 mm Pb-equivalent rubber sheet, nonlead protective sheet). The face shield is positioned on the left side of the IVR physician. We assessed the shielding effects of the novel shield using a phantom in the IVR X-ray system; a radiophotoluminescence dosimeter was used to measure the radiation exposure. In this phantom study, the effectiveness of the novel device for protecting against radiation was greater than 80% in almost all measurement situations, including in terms of eye lens exposure. A large amount of scattered radiation reaches the left side of IVR physicians. The novel radiation shield effectively protects the left side of the physician from this scattered radiation. Thus, the device can be used to protect the face and eyes of IVR physicians from occupational radiation exposure. The novel device will be useful for protecting the face (including eyes) of IVR physicians from radiation, and thus could reduce the rate of radiation injury. Based on the positive results of this phantom study, we plan to perform a clinical experiment to further test the utility of this novel radiation shield for IVR physicians.

The majority of the ground vehicles operating on the airside parts of commercial airports are currently powered by diesel engines. These include vehicles such as apron buses, fuel trucks, and aircraft tractors. Hence, these vehicles contribute to the overall CO 2 emissions of the aviation transport system and thus negatively influence its environmental footprint. To reduce this damaging environmental impact, these vehicles could potentially be electrified with on-board batteries as their energy sources. However, the conductive charging of such vehicles via stationary cable connections is rather time-consuming. A dynamic wireless charging system to supply public transportation passenger buses with electric energy while in motion has recently been installed on the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) campus and in the Korean city of Gumi. In this paper, we study configuration problems related to the use of this technology to make airport operations more environmentally sustainable. We concentrate on the power supply for apron buses and analyze the location planning problems related to the distribution of the required power supply and the wireless charging units in the apron road system. To this end, we develop a formal optimization model and discuss the first numerical results.

Lead aprons are widely used in medical imaging to protect radiographers and patients from harmful radiation. However, lead is not a desirable material for use in wearable radiation protection due to its heavy weight, inflexibility, poor durability, and toxicity. In this study, we explored the suitability of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) coating for textiles as an alternative to lead. The intention was to demonstrate the concept and technology that will achieve a lead-equivalent lightweight X-ray protective textile material with improved wearability. The primary objective was to evaluate the X-ray shielding efficiency of two textile materials coated with Bi2O3. To do so, X-ray exposures were made at the system setting of 80 kVp, 12 mAs, and 80 SID (the distance from the X-ray beam source to the specimen). It is evident from this study that Bi2O3 in a suitable resin matrix can be coated on fabrics and is an effective method to produce flexible, wearable, and lead-free aprons. Coated polyester fabrics with over 50% Bi2O3 showed enhanced shielding ability for transmitted X-rays. This research has shown that microparticle size Bi2O3 can be effective for X-ray attenuation.

The sedimentological study of volcaniclastic successions is essential for gaining insight into the intricate geological history of the Ulukışla Basin in south Central Anatolia. This study, based on a comprehensive facies analysis of two representative stratigraphic sections, attempts to reconstruct the depositional conditions associated with volcaniclastic sedimentation within the Ulukışla Formation. Facies assemblages dominated by debris-flow deposits and turbidites provide clear evidence for deposition under deep-water conditions related to the proximal environment. Sedimentary characteristics of these deposits made up of volcanogenic conglomerates with basaltic to andesitic clasts of variable size, sandstones, and subordinate mudstone are suggestive of derivation from the nearby Ulukışla volcanic rocks. Almost all the lithofacies display a high tuff content indicative of possible sediment contributions from sub-aerial volcanic sources. The main controlling factors responsible for deposition include submarine gravity flow processes thought to have been triggered by slope instability or the collapse of a volcanic edifice. Thus, the resulting volcaniclastic accumulations are interpreted to be linked to volcanic apron deposits. In the realm of prospective research, the acquisition of geochemical and geochronological data stands as a promising avenue, offering crucial insight into the temporal aspects and tectonic setting of deposition of the Ulukışla volcaniclastic sequence.