Biomedical Enterprises (United States)

Education and energy sustain economic growth and development of a prosperous society and are essential to maintain readiness and capabilities for the nation (Annapareddy, 2022; Chava & Rani, 2023; Kannan, 2022). Higher education is an integral fabric of a society. In the United States, research performed by colleges and universities plays a dominant role in the development of new technology and hence contributes to the sustainable growth of the economy. Land-grant universities often have significant responsibilities for extension and outreach programs, enriching society, and empowering agricultural, economic, and social advancement. Therefore, research and education are tightly coupled through a proper academic and outreach faculty working closely to advance our understanding of fundamental principles and to accelerate the application and transfer of transformative technologies to support societal and economic well-being.

As many educational institutions are entrusted with the primary responsibility to provide suitable training that would equip learners with the necessary talents and capabilities, they have a vital role in the development, management, delivery, and evaluation of the curricula for their services. Data is very important. By preserving, aggregating, and analyzing significant data, the institutions could capture the different dimensions of the curricula, model the various processes involved, and properly protect the collective wealth of the relevant information. Through this, they would be in a better position to provide quality services, comprehend the needs of the different partners in the education value chain, demonstrate their achievements, and follow up carefully on the different performances related to the business, managerial, and instructional operations. By making use of the qualities of the inherent IT technology, educational institutions, particularly those that operate within the context of e-education, including training centers, coursework providing entities, electronic tutoring services, and libraries, are able to exploit the different benefits of the web to provide electronic versions of their courses, create electronic knowledge representations with the expectation of being useful for those seeking certification, and address and satisfy both learners and trainers alike. With these models, they should be in a critical position to enable both the students and the teachers that are interacting within measurable and consistent institutional frameworks. With the passing of time, the different educational activities have become primarily performance or information exchange based. The increased level of competitiveness in the different education sectors increases this trend.

The objective of this study was to describe the purpose, methods, and effects of the Pac-12 Health Analytics Program (HAP) approach on sports medicine informatics, research, analytics, and health care operations. Sports injury-surveillance initiatives have been supporting the clinical research community in sports medicine for nearly 4 decades. Whereas the initial systems tracked only a few sports, current surveillance programs have expanded to include entire professional and elite athlete organizations, providing important statistics on sports injury risk management. The HAP is a conference-wide data-sharing and-analytics program. It collects authorized, deidentified clinical data, encompassing multiple domains of sports medicine injury management, including sports injuries and illnesses, concussions, risk exposure, and COVID-19 testing elements. The HAP provides clinicians with access to curated data to inform evidence-based practice and support local health care operations with respect to emerging sports injury trends. The HAP supplies approved research groups with access to a data repository that describes a homogeneous, elite intercollegiate athlete sample, thereby supporting nonresearch clinical initiatives as well as contributions to peer-reviewed research that can improve the health and well-being of Pac-12 student-athletes. The HAP is a novel approach to sports injury epidemiology and surveillance that has allowed the Pac-12 Conference to meet larger objectives regarding improving the student-athlete experience and clinical research among its member schools. Data quality control has improved the accuracy of the data and value to clinical athletic trainers within the conference. Curated dashboards displaying aggregated project data offer clinicians data-driven decision-making tools that help inform sports injury risk management. As of 2021, the HAP had supported more than 3 dozen data requests. These investigations have resulted in numerous peer-reviewed research contributions to the sports medicine community with findings that have great potential to improve the health and well-being of Pac-12 student-athletes.

IntroductionLow physician workplace satisfaction may negatively impact patient care. Dissatisfaction may begin during residency training, where trainees face lower autonomy and less control over work conditions. The theoretical and empirical literature on trainees is couched mainly in terms of burnout. Theories of satisfaction, a different construct, are derived from studies of independent physicians. Identifying specific correlates of trainee satisfaction may be a clearer path to preparing a sustainable physician workforce.MethodsWe surveyed 3300 residents and fellows (response rate of 7.2% to 46,574 surveys sent) across multiple specialties and institutions in the US. The instrument was adapted from a previous large-scale survey of physician satisfaction, with changes reflecting factors theorized to specifically affect trainee satisfaction. We applied generalized linear regression to identify correlates of higher satisfaction.ResultsA total of 1444 (44%) residents/fellows reported they were very satisfied and 1311 (40%) reported being somewhat satisfied. Factors associated with satisfaction included positive perceptions of supporting clinical staff, the electronic health record, and stability of personal mental health. Surprisingly, a strong negative perception of completing insurance and/or disability forms was also associated with higher satisfaction. Factors often presumed to correlate with satisfaction, such as duty hours, debt load, and specialty, did not show significant associations.DiscussionMultiple workplace factors are correlated with trainee satisfaction, but they are not the factors (such as financial debt) that we initially hypothesized. The factors we identified, including clinical staff support and personal mental health, may be targets for further study and/or pilot interventions aimed at improving satisfaction.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-019-00555-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">A unique engine, based on the regenerative principle, is being developed with the goal of achieving high brake efficiency over a wide power range. It can be characterized as an internal combustion Stirling engine (ICSE). The engine is a split-cycle configuration with a regenerator between the intake/compression cylinder and the power/exhaust cylinder. The regenerator acts as a counter-flow heat exchanger. During exhaust, the hot gases are cooled by the regenerator. The regenerator stores this heat. On the next cycle, compressed gases flow in the opposite direction and are heated by the regenerator. The gases coming from the regenerator into the power cylinder are very hot (~900°C), which provides the necessary gas temperature for auto-ignition of diesel and other fuels.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">A simplified Air Cycle analysis of the ICS engine is presented to validate the concept thermodynamics and to show the inherent difference between the ICS and conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) indicated efficiency. The ICE engine indicated efficiency increases with increasing compression ratio and is insensitive to peak temperatures, whereas in the ICS engine indicated efficiency increases with decreasing compression ratio and increasing peak temperature. This engine concept is a candidate for application of adiabatic engine technology which has been explored for many years. With materials that can withstand high temperatures, brake efficiencies of 60-70% are possible. Low heat transfer is important to the proper operation of the engine.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">A multi-step cycle computer indicated thermodynamic and fluid flow model of the ICS engine of increasing detail was used during the engine development. Finally, detailed perturbation studies were conducted to fully understand the ICS design sensitivities. An engine friction model was added to the computer model to be able to compare estimates of ICSE BSFC and BMEP with ICE engines.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Important ICS engine innovations include elimination of throttling losses, low friction due to low compression ratio, and very high air cycle efficiencies (~80%) combined with low compression ratio. The engine is designed for the highest possible efficiencies. In addition to these advantages, the engine has nearly constant pressure combustion, which should help reduce NOx formation.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The major findings were: the ICS engine is more efficient than either gasoline or diesel engines over the entire operating range especially at part power. At wide open throttle, an ICS engine is more efficient than either a gasoline or a diesel engine. This advantage increases at part power. On the negative side, the ICS engine has inherent low power density (volumetric efficiency) because of low compression ratio, late air intake and late combustion. A prototype engine and a modest engine test dynamometer and instrumentation are nearing completion to demonstrate the P&B Enterprises, Inc. (PBEI), ICSE concept. The prototype is a retrofitted two-cylinder diesel engine. The prototype uses the existing engine block, and the crankshaft and camshaft fit into existing spaces in the block. Anticipated problems to be addressed with the prototype engine are starting, combustion characteristics, regenerator temperature control and high turbocharging ratios to achieve reasonable power density.</div></div>

The use of bone grafts is an essential component in spinal fusion. Autologous bone has been shown to result in long-term stable arthrodesis between spinal motion segments. However, autograft can be associated with significant morbidity and a limited supply. Alternatives, such as allogeneic demineralized bone matrix (DBM), are a potential source and supplement to autograft bone. The current study compares the ability of a DBM product (BioSet RT) and a coralline hydroxyapatite (Pro Osteon 500R), for inducing spinal fusion in a rabbit model. BioSet RT, alone or in combination with autograft, and Pro Osteon 500R were implanted in the posterior lateral inter-transverse process region of the rabbit spine. The spines were evaluated at 18 weeks for fusion of the L4-L5 transverse processes using a total of 33 skeletally mature male rabbits; 4 naïve animals were also included in the study. Samples were evaluated radiographically, histologically, by palpation, and through mechanical strength testing. Radiographical, histological, and palpation measurements demonstrated the ability of BioSet RT to induce new bone formation and bridging fusion comparable to autograft. This material performed well alone or in combination with autograft material. Despite significantly higher biomechanical testing results, minimal bone formation and fusion was recorded for the Pro Osteon 500R-treated group. This in vivo study demonstrates the ability of BioSet RT to induce new bone formation, and there was a clear relationship between bridging bone and mechanical strength.

The in vitro and in vivo electrochemical behavior of commercially pure titanium (cp Ti) was characterized using a specialized osseous implant in conjunction with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement techniques. Studies performed in vitro were used to verify the operation of the transducer and develop methods of deconvoluting EIS data. This method was subsequently used to describe an electrochemical equivalent circuit model of the surface oxide and electrical double-layer capacitance of cp Ti in the endogenous electrolyte found in the medullary compartment of a baboon tibia. Kinetic profiles of the double-layer capacitance and the polarization resistance were constructed from multiple in vitro and in vivo EIS measurements performed over 60 min at 0 V (reference Ag/AgCI) conditioning potential. The profiles demonstrated that the growth of surface oxides was biphasic, with rapid decrease in the double-layer capacitance occurring within 20 min and reaching steady-state conditions at approximately 40 min. These data suggested that a passive, stable biofilm formed on the cp Ti surface in vivo and in vitro.