Real-Time Somatosensory Feedback for Neural Prosthesis Control: System Development and Experimental Validation

Recent advances in neural prosthetics have provided patients with the ability to use signals derived from motor areas of the cerebral cortex to directly control an external device under visually guided closed-loop control. To attain a more natural form of prosthesis control, it is desirable to develop systems capable of providing real-time somatosensory feedback as well as visual feedback, akin to how we naturally process sensory information to control our limbs. To this end, a sophisticated data acquisition, control and feedback system was developed for neural prosthetics and psychophysics research. The system deterministically collects and processes high volume neural ensemble activity, limb kinematics, and eye movements while generating visual stimuli in an immersive three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environment. A vibrotactile feedback device was also developed and incorporated into the system. It delivers real-time limb kinematics feedback in the form of continuous, graded vibratory stimulation. A flexible and intuitive user interface allows the researcher to design experimental paradigms and adjust parameters on the fly during experiments. A psychophysical study was conducted using this system to evaluate the potential use of vibrotactile feedback as a sensory substitution method to provide somatosensory feedback for neural prosthesis control. The study also aimed to provide insight into the mechanisms of multimodal sensory processing and sensory-motor control. Able-bodied human subjects performed a trajectory-following reach task in the VR environment under different visual and vibrotactile feedback conditions. The study showed that vibrotactile feedback is capable of enhancing motor performance, implying that subjects were able to integrate and effectively use this new 'proprioceptive-like' sensory modality. Subjects were also able to partially maintain task performance using vibrotactile feedback in the absence of visual feedback. Improved motor learning and motor skill consolidation were also observed after training in the VR environment with vibrotactile feedback. These results suggest that vibrotactile feedback may be a viable method for delivering somatosensory feedback for applications such as neural prosthesis control, motor rehabilitation, and enhanced human-computer interaction

Daniel Bacher Continuing Researchers Support Program Final Report

Final report for project completed with funding from the Oregon State University Agricultural Research Foundation Continuing Researchers Support Program

datawizard: an R package for easy data preparation and statistical transformations

The {datawizard} package for the R programming language (R Core Team, 2021) provides a lightweight toolbox to assist in key steps involved in any data analysis workflow: (1) wrangling the raw data to get it in the needed form, (2) applying preprocessing steps and statistical transformations, and (3) compute statistical summaries of data properties and distributions. Therefore, it can be a valuable tool for R users and developers looking for a lightweight option for data preparation

Clinical relevance of lung transplantation for COVID-19 ARDS: a nationwide study

BACKGROUND: Although the number of lung transplantations (LTx) performed worldwide for COVID-19 induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is still low, there is general agreement that this treatment can save a subgroup of most severly ill patients with irreversible lung damage. However, the true proportion of patients eligible for LTx, the overall outcome and the impact of LTx to the pandemic are unknown. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using a nationwide registry of hospitalised patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infection admitted between January 1, 2020 and May 30, 2021 in Austria. Patients referred to one of the two Austrian LTx centers were analyzed and grouped into patients accepted and rejected for LTx. Detailed outcome analysis was performed for all patients who received a LTx for post-COVID-19 ARDS and compared to patients who underwent LTx for other indications. RESULTS: Between January 1, 2020 and May 30, 2021, 39.485 patients were hospitalised for COVID-19 in Austria. 2323 required mechanical ventilation, 183 received extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. 106 patients with severe COVID-19 ARDS were referred for LTx. Of these, 19 (18%) underwent LTx. 30-day mortality after LTx was 0% for COVID-19 ARDS transplant recipients. With a median follow-up of 134 (47–450) days, 14/19 patients are alive. CONCLUSIONS: Early referral of ECMO patients to a LTx center is pivotal in order to select patients eligible for LTx. Transplantation offers excellent midterm outcomes and should be incorporated in the treatment algorithm of post-COVID-19 ARDS

Identifying, reducing, and communicating uncertainty in community science:A focus on alien species

Community science (also often referred to as citizen science) provides a unique opportunity to address questions beyond the scope of other research methods whilst simultaneously engaging communities in the scientific process. This leads to broad educational benefits, empowers people, and can increase public awareness of societally relevant issues such as the biodiversity crisis. As such, community science has become a favourable framework for researching alien species where data on the presence, absence, abundance, phenology, and impact of species is important in informing management decisions. However, uncertainties arising at different stages can limit the interpretation of data and lead to projects failing to achieve their intended outcomes. Focusing on alien species centered community science projects, we identified key research questions and the relevant uncertainties that arise during the process of developing the study design, for example, when collecting the data and during the statistical analyses. Additionally, we assessed uncertainties from a linguistic perspective, and how the communication stages among project coordinators, participants and other stakeholders can alter the way in which information may be interpreted. We discuss existing methods for reducing uncertainty and suggest further solutions to improve data reliability. Further, we make suggestions to reduce the uncertainties that emerge at each project step and provide guidance and recommendations that can be readily applied in practice. Reducing uncertainties is essential and necessary to strengthen the scientific and community outcomes of community science, which is of particular importance to ensure the success of projects aimed at detecting novel alien species and monitoring their dynamics across space and time

Trajectories of humoral and cellular immunity and responses to a third dose of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with a history of anti-CD20 therapy.

BACKGROUND The majority of patients with B-cell-depleting therapies show compromised vaccination-induced immune responses. Herein, we report on the trajectories of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune responses in patients of the RituxiVac study compared with healthy volunteers and investigate the immunogenicity of a third vaccination in previously humoral non-responding patients. METHODS We investigated the humoral and cell-mediated immune response after SARS-CoV-2 messanger RNA vaccination in patients with a history with anti-CD20 therapies. Coprimary outcomes were antispike and SARS-CoV-2-stimulated interferon-γ concentrations in vaccine responders 4.3 months (median; IQR: 3.6-4.8 months) after first evaluation, and humoral and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) after a third vaccine dose in previous humoral non-responders. Immunity decay rates were compared using analysis of covariance in linear regression. RESULTS 5.6 months (IQR: 5.1-6.7) after the second vaccination, we detected antispike IgG in 88% (29/33) and CMI in 44% (14/32) of patients with a humoral response after two-dose vaccination compared with 92% (24/26) healthy volunteers with antispike IgG and 69% (11/16) with CMI 6.8 months after the second vaccination (IQR: 6.0-7.1). Decay rates of antibody concentrations were comparable between patients and controls (p=0.70). In two-dose non-responders, a third SARS-CoV-2 vaccine elicited humoral responses in 19% (6/32) and CMI in 32% (10/31) participants. CONCLUSION This study reveals comparable immunity decay rates between patients with anti-CD20 treatments and healthy volunteers, but inefficient humoral or CMI after a third SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in most two-dose humoral non-responders calling for individually tailored vaccination strategies in this population.Trial registration numberNCT04877496; ClinicalTrials.gov number

Invasion costs, impacts, and human agency:Response to Sagoff 2020

Article impact statement : In an era of profound biodiversity crisis, invasion costs, invader impacts, and human agency should not be dismissed