Age-related differences in conditioned pain modulation of sensitizing and desensitizing trends during response dependent stimulation

The current study evaluated age differences in conditioned pain modulation using a test stimulus that provided the opportunity to evaluate changes in heat pain sensitivity, sensitization, and desensitization within the same paradigm. During this psychophysical test, pain intensity clamping uses REsponse Dependent STIMulation (REDSTIM) methodology to automatically adjust stimulus intensity to maintain a desired pain rating set-point. Specifically, stimulus intensity increases until a pre-defined pain rating (the setpoint) is exceeded, and then decreases until pain ratings fall below the setpoint, with continued increases and decreases dictated by ratings. The subjects are blinded in terms of the setpoint and stimulus intensities. Younger and older subjects completed two test sessions of two REDSTIM trials, with presentation of conditioning cold stimulation between the trials of one session but not the other. The results indicated that conditioning cold stimulation similarly decreased the overall sensitivity of younger and older subjects, as measured by the average temperature that maintained a setpoint rating of 20 (on a scale of 0-100). The conditioning stimulus also significantly enhanced sensitization following ascending stimulus progressions and desensitization following descending stimulus progressions in older subjects relative to younger subjects. Thus, older subjects experienced greater swings in sensitivity in response to varying levels of painful stimulation. These results are discussed in terms of control over pain intensity by descending central modulatory systems. These findings potentially shed new light on the central control over descending inhibition and facilitation of pain

HEY LARRY! INVESTIGATING INTERRUPTIONS IN FUTURE VERTICAL LIFT PLATFORMS

Using technology to improve human performance is critical to maximizing the benefits of future combat systems. This study explores the effects of interruptions during high and low cognitive load states when completing dynamic tasks. Furthermore, it provides insight into how to integrate artificial intelligence and virtual assistants into future aircraft effectively. This research and the following analysis provided the Holistic Situation Awareness and Decision Making (HSA-DM) program office with meaningful data and recommendations that will enable them to reduce the impact of interruptions while improving the performance of future pilots. Specifically, this study collected and examined heart rate variability, subjective cognitive load, flight metrics, interruption lag, and task resumption lag while participants piloted an aircraft and performed dynamic tasks in a flight simulator. There were three different modalities used to assist participants with completing interrupted tasks while performing their primary task. The research team determined that the tactile activated artificial intelligence was the most effective at reducing total interruption time while having the smallest effects on flight performance and cognitive load.Major, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation in Professional Athletes: Rehabilitation and Return to Play

For the treatment of large chondral and osteochondral defects of the knee, osteochondral allograft transplantation (OCA) is an effective solution with relatively high rates of return to sport. In professional athletes, rehabilitation following OCA is a critical component of the process of returning the athlete to full sports activity and requires a multidisciplinary team approach with frequent communication between the surgical and rehabilitation teams (physical therapists, athletic trainers, coaching staff). In this review, we describe our five-phase approach to progressive rehabilitation of the professional athlete after OCA, which takes into account the biological processes of healing and optimization of neuromuscular function required for the demands of elite-level sport. The principles of early range of motion, proper progression through the kinetic chain, avoidance of pain and effusion, optimization of movement, regimen individuation, and integration of sports-specific activities underlie proper recovery

Skeletal adaptations in young male mice after 4 weeks aboard the International Space Station

Gravity has an important role in both the development and maintenance of bone mass. This is most evident in the rapid and intense bone loss observed in both humans and animals exposed to extended periods of microgravity in spaceflight. Here, cohabitating 9-week-old male C57BL/6 mice resided in spaceflight for ~4 weeks. A skeletal survey of these mice was compared to both habitat matched ground controls to determine the effects of microgravity and baseline samples in order to determine the effects of skeletal maturation on the resulting phenotype. We hypothesized that weight-bearing bones would experience an accelerated loss of bone mass compared to non-weight-bearing bones, and that spaceflight would also inhibit skeletal maturation in male mice. As expected, spaceflight had major negative effects on trabecular bone mass of the following weight-bearing bones: femur, tibia, and vertebrae. Interestingly, as opposed to the bone loss traditionally characterized for most weight-bearing skeletal compartments, the effects of spaceflight on the ribs and sternum resembled a failure to accumulate bone mass. Our study further adds to the insight that gravity has site-specific influences on the skeleton

The Majorana Project

Building a \BBz experiment with the ability to probe neutrino mass in the inverted hierarchy region requires the combination of a large detector mass sensitive to \BBz, on the order of 1-tonne, and unprecedented background levels, on the order of or less than 1 count per year in the \BBz signal region. The MAJORANA Collaboration proposes a design based on using high-purity enriched Ge-76 crystals deployed in ultra-low background electroformed Cu cryostats and using modern analysis techniques that should be capable of reaching the required sensitivity while also being scalable to a 1-tonne size. To demonstrate feasibility, the collaboration plans to construct a prototype system, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, consisting of 30 kg of 86% enriched \Ge-76 detectors and 30 kg of natural or isotope-76-depleted Ge detectors. We plan to deploy and evaluate two different Ge detector technologies, one based on a p-type configuration and the other on n-type.Comment: paper submitted for the 2008 Carolina International Symposium on Neutrino Physic

Planetary Candidates Observed by Kepler VI: Planet Sample from Q1-Q16 (47 Months)

\We present the sixth catalog of Kepler candidate planets based on nearly 4 years of high precision photometry. This catalog builds on the legacy of previous catalogs released by the Kepler project and includes 1493 new Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) of which 554 are planet candidates, and 131 of these candidates have best fit radii <1.5 R_earth. This brings the total number of KOIs and planet candidates to 7305 and 4173 respectively. We suspect that many of these new candidates at the low signal-to-noise limit may be false alarms created by instrumental noise, and discuss our efforts to identify such objects. We re-evaluate all previously published KOIs with orbital periods of >50 days to provide a consistently vetted sample that can be used to improve planet occurrence rate calculations. We discuss the performance of our planet detection algorithms, and the consistency of our vetting products. The full catalog is publicly available at the NASA Exoplanet Archive.Comment: 18 pages, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie

Post-treatment skin reactions reported by cancer patients differ by race, not by treatment or expectations

Cancer patients may experience skin problems while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Frequency of skin reactions may be influenced by skin pigmentation and psychological factors. A Symptom Inventory completed by 656 cancer patients nationwide before and after chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy plus radiation therapy was analysed to determine if treatment type, race (Black vs White), and pretreatment expectations influenced post-treatment skin reactions. Subsequent analysis of a local Symptom Inventory completed weekly for 5 weeks by 308 patients receiving radiation therapy examined severity of reported skin reactions. Significantly more patients receiving radiation therapy had stronger expectations of skin problems (62%) than patients receiving chemotherapy (40%, P=0.001) or chemotherapy plus radiation therapy (45%, P=0.003). Overall, expectations did not correlate with patient reported post-treatment skin problems in white (r=0.014, P=0.781) or black (r=0.021, P=0.936) patients. Although no significant difference was found between black and white patients in their pretreatment expectations of skin problems (P=0.32), black patients (10 out of 18, 56%) reported more skin problems than white patients (90 out of 393, 23%, P=0.001). Similarly, the local study showed that significantly more black patients (1 out of 5, 20%) reported severe skin reactions at the treatment site than white patients (12 out of 161, 8%). A direct correlation was observed between severity of skin problems and pain at the treatment site (r=0.541, P<0.001). Total radiation exposure did not significantly correlate with the report of skin problems at the treatment site for white or black patients. Overall, black patients reported more severe post-treatment skin problems than white patients. Our results suggest that symptom management for post-treatment skin reactions in cancer patients receiving radiation treatment could differ depending on their racial background

Chronic pain and sex differences:Women accept and move, while men feel blue

Purpose The aim of this study is to explore differences between male and female patients entering a rehabilitation program at a pain clinic in order to gain a greater understanding of different approaches to be used in rehabilitation. Method 1371 patients referred to a specialty pain rehabilitation clinic, completed sociodemographic and pain related questionnaires. They rated their pain acceptance (CPAQ-8), their kinesiophobia (TSK), the impact of pain in their life (MPI), anxiety and depression levels (HAD) and quality of life scales: the SF-36, LiSat-11, and the EQ-5D. Because of the large sample size of the study, the significance level was set at the p amp;lt;= .01. Results Analysis by t-test showed that when both sexes experience the same pain severity, women report significantly higher activity level, pain acceptance and social support while men report higher kinesiophobia, mood disturbances and lower activity level. Conclusion Pain acceptance (CPAQ-8) and kinesiophobia (TSK) showed the clearest differences between men and women. Pain acceptance and kinesiophobia are behaviorally defined and have the potential to be changed.Funding Agencies|Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR); Vardal Foundation; RehSAM; AFA insurance, Sweden; Swedish Association for Survivors of Accident and Injury (RTP); Renee Eanders Foundation</p