Neuroworsening (NW) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a life-threatening complication affecting at least one in five patients. The current definition remains heterogeneous and does not integrate contemporary neuromonitoring tools that could help reduce this variability. Current diagnostic approaches are predominantly reactive, identifying deterioration only after brain herniation has occurred. To establish an expert consensus to update the definition of NW in TBI by proposing a stratified diagnostic framework aligned with precision and personalized medicine principles, aiming to shift a paradigm that has been in use for the past 50 years. A formal Delphi consensus process was conducted involving 25 experts from the Latin American Brain Injury Consortium (LABIC) and the Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (FLANC). A pre-consensus systematic literature review was performed, followed by structured electronic surveys with Likert-scale and multiple-choice items. Consensus was predefined as ≥80
To evaluate the efficacy of a new orthodontic primer (Ambar APS Ortho; FGM Dental Products, Joinville, SC, Brazil) on shear bond strength (SBS) and degree conversion (DC) of metallic brackets bonding. 240 sound maxillary premolars were randomized into 24 experimental groups based on: (1) Orthodontic primer (Ambar APS Ortho, Orthoprimer and Transbond XT); (2) Light-curing time (3-seconds and 10-seconds); (3) Light-curing unit (Valo Cordless and Quazar); and (4) Storage condition (immediate time [IT] and after thermocycling [TC]). After each storage time, specimens were subjected to SBS testing at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min until failure, and values were recorded in MPa. For DC (
This paper examines the secrecy outage probability (SOP) in Fluid Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (FRIS) and contrasts their performance against two alternative RIS architectures: a traditional planar RIS and a compact RIS layout. To characterize the end-to-end FRIS channel, a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) approach is introduced, while a Q-learning algorithm is employed to adaptively select the spatial positions of FRIS elements. Numerical evaluations show that optimizing element placement in FRIS significantly improves SOP compared to conventional RIS without phase adaptation. However, these improvements become less evident once the conventional RIS implements optimized beamforming (BF) and phase-shift (PS) control. In addition, FRIS maintains a clear advantage over compact RIS designs with optimized BF and PS, mainly due to its lower spatial correlation. Results further indicate that reducing the inter-element distance negatively impacts SOP, highlighting the importance of spatial diversity. Moreover, the proposed MLE-based channel modeling and learning-driven optimization framework offer a scalable and data-efficient methodology for exploring secrecy performance. These findings establish FRIS as a promising architecture for improving physical layer security in spatially constrained and correlation-limited wireless environments.
Fluid Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (FRISs) are gaining momentum as an improved alternative over classical RIS. However, it remains unclear whether their performance gains can be entirely attributed to spatial flexibility, or instead to differences in equivalent aperture or phase design. In this work, we shed light onto this problem by benchmarking FRIS vs. RIS performances in two practical scenarios: conventional RIS (same number of active elements and same overall aperture) and compact RIS (same number of active elements, and smaller aperture with sub- lambda inter-element spacing). Statistical analysis demonstrates that: 1) spatial position optimization in FRIS provides noticeable gains over conventional RIS in the absence of phase-shift (PS) design; 2) such benefits vanish when FRIS and conventional RIS employ optimal beamforming (BF) and PS design, making position optimization irrelevant; and 3) FRIS consistently outperforms compact RIS with optimized BF and PS design, owing to spatial correlation and smaller aperture.
Background: Digital technologies, particularly CAD/CAM workflows, have transformed implant prosthodontics by improving the accuracy and efficiency of impression procedures, facilitating clinician–laboratory communication, and supporting the preservation of peri-implant tissues. Objective: To compare the three-dimensional accuracy (trueness) and passive fit of five conventional and digital impression techniques for fixed prostheses supported by two implants. Methods: An in vitro experimental study was conducted using a partially edentulous maxillary model with two implants supporting a three-unit zirconia bridge. Five impression workflows were evaluated: conventional techniques (open-tray and closed-tray, splinted and non-splinted) and digital impressions using plastic and titanium scan bodies. Three-dimensional accuracy was assessed by digital superimposition analysis, and passive fit was evaluated by marginal gap measurements using digital microscopy and ImageJ (version 1.54r) software. Statistical analyses were performed using exploratory ANOVA with Welch’s correction and Games–Howell post hoc tests (p < 0.05), complemented by effect size analysis. Results: Three-dimensional superimposition analysis revealed that digital impression workflows and the splinted conventional open-tray technique exhibited the highest trueness, with minimal spatial deviations relative to the reference model, together with the lowest marginal gap values (<1 µm). The non-splinted open-tray technique presented higher discrepancies (7.37 ± 0.94 µm), although all techniques remained within clinically acceptable tolerance ranges (60–150 µm). Conclusions: Under controlled in vitro conditions, both digital impression techniques and conventional splinted protocols achieve high three-dimensional accuracy and clinically acceptable passive fit for multi-implant-supported fixed prostheses. Digital workflows represent a predictable and efficient alternative, while conventional splinted impressions remain a reliable option depending on clinical and technological considerations.
