Wearable technology for spine movement assessment: A systematic review

Continuous monitoring of spine movement function could enhance our understanding of low back pain development. Wearable technologies have gained popularity as promising alternative to laboratory systems in allowing ambulatory movement analysis. This paper aims to review the state of art of current use of wearable technology to assess spine kinematics and kinetics. Four electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles were searched to find studies employing wearable technologies to assess the spine in adults performing dynamic movements. Two reviewers independently identified relevant papers. Customised data extraction and quality appraisal form were developed to extrapolate key details and identify risk of biases of each study. Twenty-two articles were retrieved that met the inclusion criteria: 12 were deemed of medium quality (score 33.4-66.7%), and 10 of high quality (score> 66.8%). The majority of articles (19/22) reported validation type studies. Only 6 reported data collection in real-life environments. Multiple sensors type were used: electrogoniometers (3/22), strain gauges based sensors (3/22), textile piezoresistive sensor (1/22) and accelerometers often used with gyroscopes and magnetometers (15/22). Two sensors units were mainly used and placing was commonly reported on the spine lumbar and sacral regions. The sensors were often wired to data transmitter/logger resulting in cumbersome systems. Outcomes were mostly reported relative to the lumbar segment and in the sagittal plane, including angles, range of motion, angular velocity, joint moments and forces. This review demonstrates the applicability of wearable technology to assess the spine, although this technique is still at an early stage of development

Defining mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-derived small extracellular vesicles for therapeutic applications.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are transiting rapidly towards clinical applications. However, discrepancies and controversies about the biology, functions, and potency of MSC-sEVs have arisen due to several factors: the diversity of MSCs and their preparation; various methods of sEV production and separation; a lack of standardized quality assurance assays; and limited reproducibility of in vitro and in vivo functional assays. To address these issues, members of four societies (SOCRATES, ISEV, ISCT and ISBT) propose specific harmonization criteria for MSC-sEVs to facilitate data sharing and comparison, which should help to advance the field towards clinical applications. Specifically, MSC-sEVs should be defined by quantifiable metrics to identify the cellular origin of the sEVs in a preparation, presence of lipid-membrane vesicles, and the degree of physical and biochemical integrity of the vesicles. For practical purposes, new MSC-sEV preparations might also be measured against a well-characterized MSC-sEV biological reference. The ultimate goal of developing these metrics is to map aspects of MSC-sEV biology and therapeutic potency onto quantifiable features of each preparation

Thermal Properties of Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes and Nanostructured Carbon Materials

Recent years witnessed a rapid growth of interest of scientific and engineering communities to thermal properties of materials. Carbon allotropes and derivatives occupy a unique place in terms of their ability to conduct heat. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of carbon materials span an extraordinary large range - of over five orders of magnitude - from the lowest in amorphous carbons to the highest in graphene and carbon nanotubes. I review thermal and thermoelectric properties of carbon materials focusing on recent results for graphene, carbon nanotubes and nanostructured carbon materials with different degrees of disorder. A special attention is given to the unusual size dependence of heat conduction in two-dimensional crystals and, specifically, in graphene. I also describe prospects of applications of graphene and carbon materials for thermal management of electronics.Comment: Review Paper; 37 manuscript pages; 4 figures and 2 boxe

Gastrin stabilises β-catenin protein in mouse colorectal cancer cells

As gastrin may play a role in the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, the elucidation of the mechanisms governing gastrin-induced proliferation has recently gained considerable interest. Several studies have reported that a large percentage of colorectal tumours overexpress or stabilise the β-catenin oncoprotein. We thus sought to determine whether gastrin might regulate β-catenin expression in colorectal tumour cells. Amidated gastrin-17 (G-17), one of the major circulating forms of gastrin, not only enhanced β-catenin protein expression, but also one of its target genes, cyclin D1. Furthermore, activation of β-catenin-dependent transcription by gastrin was confirmed by an increase in LEF-1 reporter activity, as well as enhanced cyclin D1 promoter activity. Finally, G-17 prolonged the τ1/2 of β-catenin protein, demonstrating that gastrin appears to exert its mitogenic effects on colorectal tumour cells, at least in part, by stabilising β-catenin

Early blood glucose profile and neurodevelopmental outcome at two years in neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy

Background: To examine the blood glucose profile and the relationship between blood glucose levels and neurodevelopmental outcome in term infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. Methods: Blood glucose values within 72 hours of birth were collected from 52 term infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. Hypoglycaemia [ 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L)] were correlated to neurodevelopmental outcome at 24 months of age. Results: Four fifths of the 468 blood samples were in the normoglycaemic range (392/468:83.8%). Of the remaining 76 samples, 51.3% were in the hypoglycaemic range and (48.7%) were hyperglycaemic. A quarter of the hypoglycaemic samples (28.2%:11/39) and a third of the hyperglycaemic samples (32.4%:12/37) were recorded within the first 30 minutes of life. Mean (SD) blood glucose values did not differ between infants with normal and abnormal outcomes [4.89(2.28) mmol/L and 5.02(2.35) mmol/L, p value = 0.15] respectively. In term infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, early hypoglycaemia (between 0-6 hours of life) was associated with adverse outcome at 24 months of age [OR = 5.8, CI = 1.04-32)]. On multivariate analysis to adjust for grade of HIE this association was not statistically significant. Late hypoglycaemia (6-72 hours of life) was not associated with abnormal outcome [OR = 0.22, CI (0.04-1.14)]. The occurrence of hyperglycaemia was not associated with adverse outcome. Conclusion: During the first 72 hours of life, blood glucose profile in infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy varies widely despite a management protocol. Early hypoglycaemia (0-6 hours of life) was associated with severe HIE, and thereby; adverse outcome

A study of genomic instability in early preneoplastic colonic lesions

It is difficult to explain the differential rates of progression of premalignant colonic lesions and differences in behaviour of morphologically similar lesions. Heterogeneity for microsatellite instability (MSI) and promoter methylation in driving these phenomena forward may explain this; however, no previous analysis has examined this in detail at the gland level, the smallest unit of colorectal premalignant lesions. We aimed to carry out an analysis of gland level genomic instability for MSI and promoter methylation. MSI occurred significantly more frequently (20%) in colonic glands than has previously been observed in whole colorectal polyps. Significant promoter methylation was seen in MLH1,PMS2,MLH3 and MSH3 as well as significant heterogeneity for both MSI and promoter methylation. Methylation and MSI may have a significant role in driving forward colorectal carcinogenesis, although in the case of MSI, this association is less clear as it occurs significantly more frequently than previously thought, and may simply be a passenger in the adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Promoter methylation in MLH1,MLH3,MSH3 and PMS2 was also found to be significantly associated with MSI and should be investigated further. A total of 273 colorectal glands (126 hyperplastic, 147 adenomatous) were isolated via laser capture microdissection (targeted at regions of MLH1 loss) from 93 colonic polyps and tested for MSI, and promoter methylation of the DNA mismatch repair genes MLH1,MSH2,MLH3,MSH6,PMS2,MGMT and MLH3 via methylation specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Logistic regression modelling was then used to identify significant associations between promoter methylation and gland histological type and MSI status

Micronutrient synergy—a new tool in effective control of metastasis and other key mechanisms of cancer

Consumption of a plant-based diet has been associated with prevention of the development and progression of cancer. We have developed strategies to inhibit cancer development and its spread by targeting common mechanisms used by all types of cancer cells that decrease stability and integrity of connective tissue. Strengthening of collagen and connective tissue can be achieved naturally through the synergistic effects of selected nutrients, such as lysine, proline, ascorbic acid and green tea extract (NM). This micronutrient mixture has exhibited a potent anticancer activity in vivo and in vitro in a few dozen cancer cell lines. Its anti-cancer effects include inhibition of metastasis, tumor growth, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) secretion, invasion, angiogenesis, and cell growth as well as induction of apoptosis. Many cancers are often diagnosed at later stages, when metastasis has occurred, which standard treatment has been unable to control. Our studies on NM effects on hepatic and pulmonary metastasis demonstrated profound, significant suppression of metastasis in a murine model. Evaluation of effects of NM on xenografts in murine models demonstrated significant reduction in tumor size and tumor burden in all human cancer cell lines tested. In vitro studies demonstrated that NM was very effective in inhibition of cell proliferation (by MTT assay), MMP secretion (by gelatinase zymography), cell invasion (through Matrigel), cell migration (by scratch test), induction of apoptosis (by live green caspase) and induction of pro-apoptotic genes in many diverse cancer cell lines. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro studies of effects of individual micronutrients compared to their specific combination demonstrated synergistic effects resulting in improved anticancer potency

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

A Transcriptional “Scream” Early Response of E. coli Prey to Predatory Invasion by Bdellovibrio

We have transcriptionally profiled the genes differentially expressed in E. coli prey cells when predatorily attacked by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus just prior to prey cell killing. This is a brief, approximately 20–25 min period when the prey cell is still alive but contains a Bdellovibrio cell in its periplasm or attached to and penetrating its outer membrane. Total RNA was harvested and labelled 15 min after initiating a semi-synchronous infection with an excess of Bdellovibrio preying upon E. coli and hybridised to a macroarray spotted with all predicted ORFs of E. coli. SAM analysis and t-tests were performed on the resulting data and 126 E. coli genes were found to be significantly differentially regulated by the prey upon attack by Bdellovibrio. The results were confirmed by QRT-PCR. Amongst the prey genes upregulated were a variety of general stress response genes, potentially “selfish” genes within or near prophages and transposable elements, and genes responding to damage in the periplasm and osmotic stress. Essentially, the presence of the invading Bdellovibrio and the resulting damage to the prey cell elicited a small “transcriptional scream”, but seemingly no specific defensive mechanism with which to counter the Bdellovibrio attack. This supports other studies which do not find Bdellovibrio resistance responses in prey, and bodes well for its use as a “living antibiotic”