"Five steps four quadrants" modularized en bloc dissection technique for accessing hepatic hilum lymph nodes in laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy

BACKGROUND Although en bloc dissection of hepatic hilum lymph nodes has many advantages in radical tumor treatment,the feasibility and safety of this approach for laparo-scopic pancreaticoduodenectomy(LPD)require further clinical evaluation and investigation.AIM To explore the application value of the"five steps four quadrants"modularized en bloc dissection technique for accessing hepatic hilum lymph nodes in LPD patients.METHODS A total of 52 patients who underwent LPD via the"five steps four quadrants"modularized en bloc dissection technique for hepatic hilum lymph nodes from April 2021 to July 2023 in our department were analyzed retrospectively.The patients'body mass index(BMI),preoperative laboratory indices,intraoperative variables and postoperative complications were recorded.The relationships between preoperative data and intraoperative lymph node dissection time and blood loss were also analyzed.RESULTS Among the 52 patients,36 were males and 16 were females,and the average age was 62.2±11.0 years.There were 26 patients with pancreatic head cancer,16 patients with periampullary cancer,and 10 patients with distal bile duct cancer.The BMI was 22.3±3.3 kg/m²,and the median total bilirubin(TBIL)concentration was 57.7(16.0-155.7)µmol/L.All patients successfully underwent the"five steps four quadrants"modularized en bloc dissection technique without lymph node clearance-related complications such as postoperative bleeding or lymphatic leakage.Correlation analysis revealed significant associations between preoperative BMI(r=0.3581,P=0.0091),TBIL level(r=0.2988,P=0.0341),prothrombin time(r=0.3018,P=0.0297)and lymph node dissection time.Moreover,dissection time was significantly correlated with intraoperative blood loss(r=0.7744,P<0.0001).Further stratified analysis demonstrated that patients with a preoperative BMI≥21.9 kg/m²and a TIBL concentration≥57.7μmol/L had significantly longer lymph node dissection times(both P<0.05).CONCLUSION The"five steps four quadrants"modularized en bloc dissection technique for accessing the hepatic hilum lymph node is safe and feasible for LPD.This technique is expected to improve the efficiency of hepatic hilum lymph node dissection and shorten the learning curve;thus,it is worthy of further clinical promotion and application.

Customized scaffolds for large bone defects using 3D‑printed modular blocks from 2D‑medical images

Additive manufacturing(AM)has revolutionized the design and manufacturing of patient-specific,three-dimensional(3D),complex porous structures known as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.The use of advanced image acquisition techniques,image processing,and computer-aided design methods has enabled the precise design and additive manufacturing of anatomically correct and patient-specific implants and scaffolds.However,these sophisticated techniques can be timeconsuming,labor-intensive,and expensive.Moreover,the necessary imaging and manufacturing equipment may not be readily available when urgent treatment is needed for trauma patients.In this study,a novel design and AM methods are proposed for the development of modular and customizable scaffold blocks that can be adapted to fit the bone defect area of a patient.These modular scaffold blocks can be combined to quickly form any patient-specific scaffold directly from two-dimensional(2D)medical images when the surgeon lacks access to a 3D printer or cannot wait for lengthy 3D imaging,modeling,and 3D printing during surgery.The proposed method begins with developing a bone surface-modeling algorithm that reconstructs a model of the patient’s bone from 2D medical image measurements without the need for expensive 3D medical imaging or segmentation.This algorithm can generate both patient-specific and average bone models.Additionally,a biomimetic continuous path planning method is developed for the additive manufacturing of scaffolds,allowing porous scaffold blocks with the desired biomechanical properties to be manufactured directly from 2D data or images.The algorithms are implemented,and the designed scaffold blocks are 3D printed using an extrusion-based AM process.Guidelines and instructions are also provided to assist surgeons in assembling scaffold blocks for the self-repair of patient-specific large bone defects.

Optimal Design of the Modular Joint Drive Train for Enhancing Cobot Load Capacity and Dynamic Performance

Automation advancements prompts the extensive integration of collaborative robot(cobot)across a range of industries.Compared to the commonly used design approach of increasing the payload-to-weight ratio of cobot to enhance load capacity,equal attention should be paid to the dynamic response characteristics of cobot during the design process to make the cobot more flexible.In this paper,a new method for designing the drive train parameters of cobot is proposed.Firstly,based on the analysis of factors influencing the load capacity and dynamic response characteristics,design criteria for both aspects are established for cobot with all optimization design criteria normalized within the design domain.Secondly,with the cobot in the horizontal pose,the motor design scheme is discretized and it takes the joint motor diameter and gearbox speed ratio as optimization design variables.Finally,all the discrete values of the optimization objectives are obtained through the enumeration method and the Pareto front is used to select the optimal solution through multi-objective optimization.Base on the cobot design method proposed in this paper,a six-axis cobot is designed and compared with the commercial cobot.The result shows that the load capacity of the designed cobot in this paper reaches 8.4 kg,surpassing the 5 kg load capacity commercial cobot which is used as a benchmark.The minimum resonance frequency of the joints is 42.70 Hz.

Fixed-Time Sliding Mode Control With Varying Exponent Coefficient for Modular Reconfigurable Flight Arrays

The modular system can change its physical structure by self-assembly and self-disassembly between modules to dynamically adapt to task and environmental requirements. Recognizing the adaptive capability of modular systems, we introduce a modular reconfigurable flight array(MRFA) to pursue a multifunction aircraft fitting for diverse tasks and requirements,and investigate the attitude control and the control allocation problem by using the modular reconfigurable flight array as a platform. First, considering the variable and irregular topological configuration of the modular array, a center-of-mass-independent flight array dynamics model is proposed to allow control allocation under over-actuated situations. Secondly, in order to meet the stable, fast and accurate attitude tracking performance of the MRFA, a fixed-time convergent sliding mode controller with state-dependent variable exponent coefficients is proposed to ensure fast convergence rate both away from and near the system equilibrium point without encountering the singularity. It is shown that the controller also has fixed-time convergent characteristics even in the presence of external disturbances. Finally,simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling and control strategies.

Modularized and Parametric Modeling Technology for Finite Element Simulations of Underground Engineering under Complicated Geological Conditions

The surrounding geological conditions and supporting structures of underground engineering are often updated during construction,and these updates require repeated numerical modeling.To improve the numerical modeling efficiency of underground engineering,a modularized and parametric modeling cloud server is developed by using Python codes.The basic framework of the cloud server is as follows:input the modeling parameters into the web platform,implement Rhino software and FLAC3D software to model and run simulations in the cloud server,and return the simulation results to the web platform.The modeling program can automatically generate instructions that can run the modeling process in Rhino based on the input modeling parameters.The main modules of the modeling program include modeling the 3D geological structures,the underground engineering structures,and the supporting structures as well as meshing the geometric models.In particular,various cross-sections of underground caverns are crafted as parametricmodules in themodeling program.Themodularized and parametric modeling program is used for a finite element simulation of the underground powerhouse of the Shuangjiangkou Hydropower Station.This complicatedmodel is rapidly generated for the simulation,and the simulation results are reasonable.Thus,this modularized and parametric modeling program is applicable for three-dimensional finite element simulations and analyses.

Illumination Adaptive Identification Algorithm of a Reconfigurable Modular Robot

Reconfigurable modular robots feature high mobility due to their unconstrained connection manners.Inspired by the snake multi-joint crawling principle,a chain-type reconfigurable modular robot(CRMR)is designed,which could reassemble into various configurations through the compound joint motion.Moreover,an illumination adaptive modular robot identification(IAMRI)algorithm is proposed for CRMR.At first,an adaptive threshold is applied to detect oriented FAST features in the robot image.Then,the effective detection of features in non-uniform illumination areas is achieved through an optimized quadtree decomposition method.After matching features,an improved random sample consensus algorithm is employed to eliminate the mismatched features.Finally,the reconfigurable robot module is identified effectively through the perspective transformation.Compared with ORB,MA,Y-ORB,and S-ORB algorithms,the IAMRI algorithm has an improvement of over 11.6%in feature uniformity,and 13.7%in the comprehensive indicator,respectively.The IAMRI algorithm limits the relative error within 2.5 pixels,efficiently completing the CRMR identification under complex environmental changes.

Design and Development of Small Modular Courses for“Education-Training Integration”in Vocational Colleges:A Case Study

Vocational education plays a vital role in the development of skilled technical professionals and the advancement of the economy.However,the emphasis on campus education often neglects the importance of external training,hindering the overall development of vocational education.This study aims to address this issue by exploring the design and development of small modular courses that integrate training and education in vocational colleges,focusing on the mechanics course as a case study.The research methods employed in this study include an in-depth analysis of enterprise training needs,the development of digital teaching resources utilizing the finite element method(FEM),and the implementation of a small modular course integrating education and training.The data analysis reveals positive outcomes in terms of learners’comprehension and engagement with complex mechanics formulas through the use of stress nephograms and other digital resources.This research provides a new perspective on curriculum design and offers insights into the integration of training and education in vocational colleges.The findings underscore the significance of incorporating innovative teaching methodologies and digital resources in enhancing the quality and relevance of vocational education,ultimately contributing to the cultivation of skilled professionals and the growth of the vocational education sector.

Application Strategies of Modular Design in Assembled Teaching Buildings

As an efficient,environmentally friendly,energy-saving construction method,assembled buildings are now widely used in campus building construction.Modular design thinking is system-based design thinking,and its application to the design of an assembled teaching building project will comprehensively improve the rationality of the teaching building and component design.The paper focuses on the application of modular design thinking in assembled teaching building design,aiming to provide references for China’s architectural design units,giving full play to the advantages of modular design thinking in future teaching building design projects,and enhancing the level of design,for the construction of the teaching building and the basis of the technical guarantee.

Comparative analysis of various modularization algorithms and species specific study of VEGF signaling pathways

In biology, signal transduction refers to a process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. It involves ordered sequences of biochemical reactions inside the cell. These cascades of reactions are carried out by enzymes and activated by second messengers. Signal transduction pathways are complex in nature. Each pathway is responsible for tuning one or more biological functions in the intracellular environment as well as more than one pathway interact among themselves to carry forward a single biological function. Such kind of behavior of these pathways makes understanding difficult. Hence, for the sake of simplicity, they need to be partitioned into smaller modules and then analyzed. We took VEGF signaling pathway, which is responsible for angiogenesis for this kind of modularized study. Modules were obtained by applying the algorithm of Nayak and De (Nayak and De, 2007) for different complexity values. These sets of modules were compared among themselves to get the best set of modules for an optimal complexity value. The best set of modules compared with four different partitioning algorithms namely, Farhat’s (Farhat, 1998), Greedy (Chartrand and Oellermann, 1993), Kernighan-Lin’s (Kernighan and Lin, 1970) and Newman’s community finding algorithm (Newman, 2006). These comparisons enabled us to decide which of the aforementioned algorithms was the best one to create partitions from human VEGF signaling pathway. The optimal complexity value, on which the best set of modules was obtained, was used to get modules from different species for comparative study. Comparison among these modules would shed light on the trend of development of VEGF signaling pathway over these species.

Design of Prefabricated Old-age Building Based on Modularization:A Case Study of Institutional Elderly Houses Design in Taigou Village,Xi'an City

Old-age building was designed in Ziwu Town,from the aspects of energy saving,environmental protection,full use of solar energy and characteristics of the local climate.In order to meet the requirements of energy conservation,environmental protection and climate adaptability of residential buildings,this paper integrates the construction and design in the prefabricated building design,at the same time,with the consideration of the possibility of expansion and removal of the nursing home,the concept of "modular unit" is put forward.Considering the climatic adaptability of the base position,the utilization of solar energy and the organization of natural ventilation should be paid attention to,also,the rammed soil construction method is added in this design,which can improve the thermal insulation performance of the building enclosure and create a comfortable indoor thermal environment both in winter and summer.In order to realize the object of industrial building construction and design,the prefabricated construction method is used,which produces impact on the surrounding environment more environmentally friendly.The building will be easily built,less restricted,and low-cost.What's more,local material and the advantages of all dry work increase the operability of the project.

The Realization of Mass Customization Using Modularization Method

In the view of the comparison of Mass Customization ( MC) with Mass Production and Customization Production, the objectives of MC are analyzed. It is pointed out that the core objectives of MC are to realize in dividuation customization, low cost, quick response to market demands. The modul arization theory is simply introduced. Based on the characteristics of modular ization, the mechanism of realizing MC with modularization is analyzed. The in dividuation customization can be realized with the different combinations of mod ules. The low cost can be realized with the scale economy and the category econo my of modules. The quick response can be realized with standard modules and its interfaces. So, the modularization is a kind of effective method in realizing MC . The modularization for MC is a systems engineering. With product modularized, production organization and management and manufacturing equipment will be chang ed. In addition, the paper also proposes a Mass Customization production model w hich is based on modularization. This Mass Customization production model is con sisted of modularization of product design, specialization of manufacturing, Vir tual Enterprises based on modularizing enterprises, and modularizing manufacturi ng equipment. The module design for MC, modularizing enterprises, and reconfigur able automation manufacturing equipment are discussed, and it is pointed out tha t they are the important supports for MC.

Research on shock resistance of modularization cabin

Underwater explosion impulsive loading would not only cause serious damage to ship structure,but also influence the shock resistance of cabin structure.In this paper,based on Duha Man integral theory,the idea of cabin structure about isolation vibration based on modularization design was presented,which can improve the shock resistance of existing cabins.The shock resistance analysis of the modularization cabin about connection pattern by bolt,single-layer,double-layer and floating raft system of vibration isolation is carried out.The results showed that the shock resistance of bolt is the worst and floating raft is relatively superior above all.

Product Specification Analysis for Modular Product Design Using Big Sales Data

Big data on product sales are an emerging resource for supporting modular product design to meet diversified customers’requirements of product specification combinations.To better facilitate decision-making of modular product design,correlations among specifications and components originated from customers’conscious and subconscious preferences can be investigated by using big data on product sales.This study proposes a framework and the associated methods for supporting modular product design decisions based on correlation analysis of product specifications and components using big sales data.The correlations of the product specifications are determined by analyzing the collected product sales data.By building the relations between the product components and specifications,a matrix for measuring the correlation among product components is formed for component clustering.Six rules for supporting the decision making of modular product design are proposed based on the frequency analysis of the specification values per component cluster.A case study of electric vehicles illustrates the application of the proposed method.

Modular Extremely Large-Scale Array Communication:Near-Field Modelling and Performance Analysis

This paper investigates the wireless communication with a novel architecture of antenna arrays,termed modular extremely large-scale array(XLarray),where array elements of an extremely large number/size are regularly mounted on a shared platform with both horizontally and vertically interlaced modules.Each module consists of a moderate/flexible number of array elements with the inter-element distance typically in the order of the signal wavelength,while different modules are separated by the relatively large inter-module distance for convenience of practical deployment.By accurately modelling the signal amplitudes and phases,as well as projected apertures across all modular elements,we analyse the near-field signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)performance for modular XL-array communications.Based on the non-uniform spherical wave(NUSW)modelling,the closed-form SNR expression is derived in terms of key system parameters,such as the overall modular array size,distances of adjacent modules along all dimensions,and the user's three-dimensional(3D)location.In addition,with the number of modules in different dimensions increasing infinitely,the asymptotic SNR scaling laws are revealed.Furthermore,we show that our proposed near-field modelling and performance analysis include the results for existing array architectures/modelling as special cases,e.g.,the collocated XL-array architecture,the uniform plane wave(UPW)based far-field modelling,and the modular extremely large-scale uniform linear array(XL-ULA)of onedimension.Extensive simulation results are presented to validate our findings.

Improving the Use of Robotic Welding of Aluminum Boats through Modularization

The level of automation in the manufacture of recreational aluminum boats is very low. Robotized welding is rarely utilized, although it is commonly considered as the most effective way to reduce costs and increase competitiveness. A reason for the under-exploitation of robotics can be found in the construction of aluminum boats;boat models and their detailed structures are almost without exception individual pieces. A new stiffener structure for an aluminum recreational boat hull is developed in this work. Construction of the stiffener as a module allows exploitation of the advantages of modularization. The number of different parts is reduced and the structure simplified improves the applicability of robotic welding and provides benefits accruing from mass production. The same module can be used in several boat models. The modularity also makes it possible to use the same advanced robot welding fixture for a variety of boat models.

Neighborhood Modularization‑based Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for Disassembly Planning with Operation Attributes

The recycling and remanufacturing of end-of-life products are significant for environmental protection and resource conservation.Disassembly is an essential process of remanufacturing end-of-life products.Effective disassembly plans help improve disassembly efficiency and reduce disassembly costs.This paper studies a disassembly planning problem with operation attributes,in which an integrated decision of the disassembly sequence,disassembly directions,and disassembly tools are made.Besides,a mathematical model is formulated with the objective of minimizing the penalty cost caused by the changing of operation attributes.Then,a neighborhood modularization-based artificial bee colony algorithm is developed,which contains a modular optimized design.Finally,two case studies with different scales and complexities are used to verify the performance of the proposed approach,and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the two existing methods within an acceptable computational time.

Modular flexible“Tetris”microsatellite platform based on sandwich assembly mode

In this paper,a flexible modular“Tetris”microsatellite platform is studied to implement the rapid integration and assembly of microsatellites.The proposed microsatellite platform is fulfilled based on a sandwich assembly mode which consists of the isomorphic module structure and the standard mechanical-electric-data-thermal interfaces.The advantages of the sandwich assembly mode include flexible reconfiguration and efficient assembly.The prototype of the sandwich assembly mode is built for verifying the performance and the feasibility of the proposed mechanical-electric-data-thermal interfaces.Finally,an assembly case is accomplished to demonstrate the validity and advantages of the proposed“Tetris”microsatellite platform.

Methodology of Fashion Merchandising by Modularization Operation Management

Based on the requirements of applying information technology to reform the traditional fashion industry,the method of fashion merchandising management in some medium-sized enterprises is discussed. By analyzing the actual domestic fashion industry environment, ideal model that could quickly respond to the market's changes is proposed which includes naming brand, target-market position, circumstances analysis and popularity anticipation, brand concept and style setting, fashion design, fashion category component, and sale strategy.

Prediction of NO_(x)concentration using modular long short-term memory neural network for municipal solid waste incineration

Air pollution control poses a major problem in the implementation of municipal solid waste incineration(MSWI).Accurate prediction of nitrogen oxides(NO_(x))concentration plays an important role in efficient NO_(x)emission controlling.In this study,a modular long short-term memory(M-LSTM)network is developed to design an efficient prediction model for NO_(x)concentration.First,the fuzzy C means(FCM)algorithm is utilized to divide the task into several sub-tasks,aiming to realize the divide-and-conquer ability for complex task.Second,long short-term memory(LSTM)neural networks are applied to tackle corresponding sub-tasks,which can improve the prediction accuracy of the sub-networks.Third,a cooperative decision strategy is designed to guarantee the generalization performance during the testing or application stage.Finally,after being evaluated by a benchmark simulation,the proposed method is applied to a real MSWI process.And the experimental results demonstrate the considerable prediction ability of the M-LSTM network.

Study on the Scaffolding Teaching of Three-dimensional Animation Foundation based on Modularization

In this paper, the teaching of course Three-dimensional Animation Foundation is designed mainly based on teaching content modularization and scaffolding teaching model. The modularized content design for Three-dimensional Animation Foundation is specifically expounded, and also the ideas for developing the scaffolding teaching model are analyzed. How to integrate the scaffolding teaching model into course teaching is introduced in details. Finally, new methods for guiding students to think independently in course teaching and improve students＇ self-awareness and self-learning ability are proposed.