Effects of ACL Reconstruction Surgery on Vertical Jump

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are one of the most common injuries involving lower extremities among athletes. Due to the severity of the injury and the invasive procedure in reconstructing the ligament, ACL injuries can have a significant impact on muscular strength, flexibility, and endurance. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in ground reaction force (GRF) between lower extremities of subjects who have undergone unilateral ACL reconstructive surgery. Of particular interest is the subjects’ predisposal to future injuries resulting from significant disparities of produced forces between lower extremities and, consequently, the resulting disruption of the body’s kinetic chain. Ten collegiate athletes (n=10) were used for the study: Five having undergone no prior surgery involving lower extremities (control group) and five having undergone unilateral ACL reconstructive surgery (experimental group). Tests were conducted in the Biomechanics’ Laboratory using the force plate to measure GRF (Newtons). Each subject completed a total of 10 vertical jumps: Five jumps were completed with only one leg on the force plate for measurement (GRF), and then five jumps were completed with only the opposite leg on the force plate for measurement (GRF). For the experimental group, the reconstructed leg was tested first, ruling out fatigue as a contributor for the expected decreased force production. Upon completion, subject’s jumps were averaged and combined with their respective groups. A grand mean then was calculated for each group and used for discussion of results. Obtained data exhibited significant differences of force produced between surgically repaired and non-surgically repaired extremities. For the control group, differences were minimal on both the upward and downward phase of the jump, with an average disparity of 5 percent and 7 percent, respectively. For the experimental group, however, the non-reconstructed extremity demonstrated significantly more force on both the upward and downward phase of the jump, with an average disparity of 130 percent and 140 percent, respectively. It can be assumed these imbalances are not only occurring during explosive movements such as the vertical jump; yet, they occur during everyday activities such as walking, standing, sitting, etc. When dealing with such imbalances, the body makes compensatory changes that disrupt the body’s kinetic chain. Over time, these disruptions can manifest into chronic injuries resulting from muscular strength and flexibility imbalances, improper movement patterns, and postural deviations—not to mention, the probability of a traumatic injury also is greatly increased due to the aforementioned problems

Engaging activities for teaching linear algebra

This paper discusses several linear algebra activities designed to help enhance students' skills in collaborating, exploring mathematics, and linking together abstract and visual ways of approaching mathematics. Most of these activities are short, accessible, engaging, and easy to incorporate into any classroom. In addition, we discuss some questions instructors can ask themselves to design novel and engaging activities when constrained to teaching from a particular curriculum.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in PRIMUS. See https://github.com/sfushidahardy/SSEA-Linear-Algebra-22/blob/main/README.md for supplementary materia

Peptide-directed assembly of functional supramolecular polymers for biomedical applications: electroactive molecular tongue-twisters (oligoalanine-oligoaniline-oligoalanine) for electrochemically enhanced drug delivery

We report the preparation and characterization of films of electroactive supramolecular polymers based on non-electroactive oligoalanines and electroactive oligoanilines. Fibroblasts adhered to and proliferated on the films, and the delivery of the clinically relevant anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone phosphate could be enhanced upon the application of an electrical stimulus

Starved of Power: The cultural politics of nutrition and the dietary colonisation of Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia

This research is an exploration of contemporary postcolonial nutrition in remote Northern Territory Aboriginal communities. It is an interpretive inquiry that seeks firstly to understand nutrition in an historical, political and cultural framework and secondly, to examine the relationship between culture, knowledge and power in order to offer an alternative view that will be effective in informing novel solutions to reducing nutritional inequalities. The premise of the research is that in order to ensure improved nutrition for Aboriginal people in the future, there needs to be an increased focus on the ethical issues of human rights and social justice and the practical issues of intervention and policy implementation. The research focuses on the impact that the dominant culture has had on food and nutrition rather than seeing food and nutrition as the outcome of Aboriginal factors. It explores aspects of the dominant culture which contribute to creating and perpetuating marginalisation. The research demonstrates that nutrition and nutrition education are subject to privileging, colonial control and power. Taking colonialism and postcolonialism as the theoretical perspective, I claim that the largest contributing factor toward the past and present poor nutritional status of Aboriginal people is the historical legacy of the colonial experience and the consequences of ongoing postcolonial policies. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was ideally positioned as an analytical framework to investigate the narratives of 28 research participants and the sites of difference about which they spoke. The research illustrates that the situation is unlikely to improve without politicisation of nutrition issues and it seeks to encourage nutritionists, dietitians and other health professionals to advocate for policies, institutions and power structures to be reconstructed within a realistic social justice framework

Multimodal perioperative pain protocol for Gynecologic Oncology laparotomy reduces length of hospital stay

Our primary objective was to evaluate the impact of a multimodal perioperative pain regimen on length of hospital stay for patients undergoing laparotomy with a gynecologic oncologist

Circulating gluten-specific FOXP3 + CD39 + regulatory T cells have impaired suppressive function in patients with celiac disease

Background Celiac disease is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the gut triggered by dietary gluten. Although the effector T-cell response in patients with celiac disease has been well characterized, the role of regulatory T (Treg) cells in the loss of tolerance to gluten remains poorly understood. Objective We sought to define whether patients with celiac disease have a dysfunction or lack of gluten-specific forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3)+ Treg cells. Methods Treated patients with celiac disease underwent oral wheat challenge to stimulate recirculation of gluten-specific T cells. Peripheral blood was collected before and after challenge. To comprehensively measure the gluten-specific CD4+ T-cell response, we paired traditional IFN-γ ELISpot with an assay to detect antigen-specific CD4+ T cells that does not rely on tetramers, antigen-stimulated cytokine production, or proliferation but rather on antigen-induced coexpression of CD25 and OX40 (CD134). Results Numbers of circulating gluten-specific Treg cells and effector T cells both increased significantly after oral wheat challenge, peaking at day 6. Surprisingly, we found that approximately 80% of the ex vivo circulating gluten-specific CD4+ T cells were FOXP3+CD39+ Treg cells, which reside within the pool of memory CD4+CD25+CD127lowCD45RO+ Treg cells. Although we observed normal suppressive function in peripheral polyclonal Treg cells from patients with celiac disease, after a short in vitro expansion, the gluten-specific FOXP3+CD39+ Treg cells exhibited significantly reduced suppressive function compared with polyclonal Treg cells. Conclusion This study provides the first estimation of FOXP3+CD39+ Treg cell frequency within circulating gluten-specific CD4+ T cells after oral gluten challenge of patients with celiac disease. FOXP3+CD39+ Treg cells comprised a major proportion of all circulating gluten-specific CD4+ T cells but had impaired suppressive function, indicating that Treg cell dysfunction might be a key contributor to disease pathogenesis

Tuberculosis susceptibility and vaccine protection are independently controlled by host genotype

The outcome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and the immunological response to the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine are highly variable in humans. Deciphering the relative importance of host genetics, environment, and vaccine preparation for the efficacy of BCG has proven difficult in natural populations. We developed a model system that captures the breadth of immunological responses observed in outbred individual mice, which can be used to understand the contribution of host genetics to vaccine efficacy. This system employs a panel of highly diverse inbred mouse strains, consisting of the founders and recombinant progeny of the "Collaborative Cross" project. Unlike natural populations, the structure of this panel allows the serial evaluation of genetically identical individuals and the quantification of genotype-specific effects of interventions such as vaccination. When analyzed in the aggregate, our panel resembled natural populations in several important respects: the animals displayed a broad range of susceptibility to M. tuberculosis, differed in their immunological responses to infection, and were not durably protected by BCG vaccination. However, when analyzed at the genotype level, we found that these phenotypic differences were heritable. M. tuberculosis susceptibility varied between lines, from extreme sensitivity to progressive M. tuberculosis clearance. Similarly, only a minority of the genotypes was protected by vaccination. The efficacy of BCG was genetically separable from susceptibility to M. tuberculosis, and the lack of efficacy in the aggregate analysis was driven by nonresponsive lines that mounted a qualitatively distinct response to infection. These observations support an important role for host genetic diversity in determining BCG efficacy and provide a new resource to rationally develop more broadly efficacious vaccines. IMPORTANCE Tuberculosis (TB) remains an urgent global health crisis, and the efficacy of the currently used TB vaccine, M. bovis BCG, is highly variable. The design of more broadly efficacious vaccines depends on understanding the factors that limit the protection imparted by BCG. While these complex factors are difficult to disentangle in natural populations, we used a model population of mice to understand the role of host genetic composition in BCG efficacy. We found that the ability of BCG to protect mice with different genotypes was remarkably variable. The efficacy of BCG did not depend on the intrinsic susceptibility of the animal but, instead, correlated with qualitative differences in the immune responses to the pathogen. These studies suggest that host genetic polymorphism is a critical determinant of vaccine efficacy and provide a model system to develop interventions that will be useful in genetically diverse populations.This work, including the efforts of Hardy Kornfeld, was funded by HHS | National Institutes of Health (NIH) (HL081149). This work, including the efforts of Sam Behar, was funded by HHS | National Institutes of Health (NIH) (AI123286-01). This work, including the efforts of Clare Margaret Smith and Christopher Sassetti, was funded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

Interdisciplinary Design Studio: Programming Document Visioning for a Robotic Demonstration, Research, and Engagement Dairy

The 2022 COLLABORATE Design Studio brought together students from various disciplines to address a complex, real-world project which required collaborative input from different perspectives. The studio worked to advance the co-creation of knowledge between external stakeholders, students, and instructors. The course was co-taught by faculty from different disciplines, and areas of expertise. During the semester, Nate Bicak and Steven Hardy worked with students from Architecture and Interior Design in collaboration with students in Dr. Tami Brown-Brandl’s students in Biological Systems Engineering and Animal Science to explore the values, spatial qualities, and area requirements of a Robotic Demonstration, Research, and Engagement Dairy. Students organized a series of meetings and participatory activities to gather information from a range of project stakeholders including: Heather Akin (Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication), Kris Bousquet (NE Dairy Association), Paul Kononoff (Animal Science), Eric Markvicka (Mechanical and Material Engineering), Julia McQuillan (Sociology), Santosh Pitla (BioSystems and Agricultural Engineering), Ling Ling Sun (NE Public Media), and Rosanna Villa Rojas (Food Science & Technology). The information gathered helped to frame the overall problem - both quantitative and qualitative - to be addressed during the design visioning stage (not included in this document). Student contributors included: Sarah Alduaylij, Noor Al-Maamari, Devyn Beekman, Kelsey Belgum, Lauren Chubb, Nicholas Forte, Mitchell Hill, Joshua Holstein, Dylan Lambe, Phuong Le, Mia LeRiger, Elizabeth Loftus, Josh Lorenzen , Megan Lovci, Alex Martino, Zade Miller, Hannah Morgan , Annabelle Nichols , Collin Shearman, Rebecca Sowl, Nalin Theplikhith, Angela Vu, Shaylee Wagner, Ethan Watermeier, Trever Zelenk

Engaging rural Australian communities in National Science Week helps increase visibility for women researchers

During a week-long celebration of science, run under the federally-supported National Science Week umbrella, the Catch a Rising Star: women in Queensland research (CaRS) program flew scientists who identify as women to regional and remote communities in the Australian State of Queensland. The aim of the project was twofold: first, to bring science to remote and regional communities in a large, economically diverse state; and second, to determine whether media and public engagement provide career advancement opportunities for women scientists. This paper focuses on the latter goal. The data show: 1) a substantial majority (> 80%) of researchers thought the training and experience provided by the program would help develop her career as a research scientist in the future; 2) the majority (65%) thought the program would help relate her research to end users, industry partners, or stakeholders in the future; and, 3) analytics can help create a compelling narrative around engagement metrics and help to quantify influence. During the weeklong project, scientists reached 600,000 impressions on one social media platform (Twitter) using a program hashtag. The breadth and depth of the project outcomes indicate funding bodies and employers could use similar data as an informative source of metrics to support hiring and promotion decisions. Although this project focused on researchers who identify as women, the lessons learned are applicable to researchers representing a diverse range of backgrounds. Future surveys will help determine whether the CaRS program provided long-term career advantages to participating scientists and communities