Off-axis Neuromuscular Training for Knee Ligament Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

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EMG-Based Continuous and Simultaneous Estimation of Arm Kinematics in Able-Bodied Individuals and Stroke Survivors

Among the potential biological signals for human-machine interactions (brain, nerve, and muscle signals), electromyography (EMG) widely used in clinical setting can be obtained non-invasively as motor commands to control movements. The aim of this study was to develop a model for continuous and simultaneous decoding of multi-joint dynamic arm movements based on multi-channel surface EMG signals crossing the joints, leading to application of myoelectrically controlled exoskeleton robots for upper-limb rehabilitation. Twenty subjects were recruited for this study including 10 stroke subjects and 10 able-bodied subjects. The subjects performed free arm reaching movements in the horizontal plane with an exoskeleton robot. The shoulder, elbow and wrist movements and surface EMG signals from six muscles crossing the three joints were recorded. A non-linear autoregressive exogenous (NARX) model was developed to continuously decode the shoulder, elbow and wrist movements based solely on the EMG signals. The shoulder, elbow and wrist movements were decoded accurately based only on the EMG inputs in all the subjects, with the variance accounted for (VAF) > 98% for all three joints. The proposed approach is capable of simultaneously and continuously decoding multi-joint movements of the human arm by taking into account the non-linear mappings between the muscle EMGs and joint movements, which may provide less effortful control of robotic exoskeletons for rehabilitation training of individuals with neurological disorders and arm impairment

Molecular cloning and tissue expression of the fatty acid-binding protein (Es-FABP) gene in female Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs), small cytosolic proteins that function in the uptake and utilization of fatty acids, have been extensively studied in higher vertebrates while invertebrates have received little attention despite similar nutritional requirements during periods of reproductive activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Therefore, a cDNA encoding <it>Eriocheir sinensis </it>FABP (Es-FABP) was cloned based upon EST analysis of a hepatopancreas cDNA library. The full length cDNA was 750 bp and encoded a 131 aa polypeptide that was highly homologous to related genes reported in shrimp. The 9108 bp <it>Es-FABP </it>gene contained four exons that were interrupted by three introns, a genomic organization common among FABP multigene family members in vertebrates. Gene expression analysis, as determined by RT-PCR, revealed the presence of <it>Es-FABP </it>transcripts in hepatopancreas, hemocytes, ovary, gills, muscle, thoracic ganglia, heart, and intestine, but not stomach or eyestalk. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that <it>Es-FABP </it>expression in ovary, hemocytes, and hepatopancreas was dependent on the status of ovarian development, with peak expression observed in January.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Evidence provided in the present report supports a role of Es-FABP in lipid transport during the period of rapid ovarian growth in <it>E. sinensis</it>, and indirectly confirms the participation of the hepatopancreas, ovary, and hemocytes in lipid nutrient absorption and utilization processes.</p

Position as Well as Velocity Dependence of Spasticity—Four-Dimensional Characterizations of Catch Angle

We investigated the muscle alterations related to spasticity in stroke quantitatively using a portable manual spasticity evaluator.Methods: Quantitative neuro-mechanical evaluations under controlled passive elbow stretches in stroke survivors and healthy controls were performed in a research laboratory of a rehabilitation hospital. Twelve stroke survivors and nine healthy controls participated in the study. Spasticity and catch angle were evaluated at 90°/s and 270°/s with the velocities controlled through real-time audiovisual feedback. The elbow range of motion (ROM), stiffness, and energy loss were determined at a slow velocity of 30°/s. Four-dimensional measures including joint position, torque, velocity and torque change rate were analyzed jointly to determine the catch angle.Results: The catch angle was dependent on the stretch velocity and occurred significantly later with increasing velocity (p &lt; 0.001), indicating position dependence of spasticity. The higher resistance felt by the examiner at the higher velocity was also due to more extreme joint position (joint angle) since the spastic joint was moved significantly further to a stiffer elbow position with the higher velocity. Stroke survivors showed smaller ROM (p &lt; 0.001), higher stiffness (p &lt; 0.001), and larger energy loss (p = 0.005). Compared to the controls, stroke survivors showed increased reflex excitability with higher reflex-mediated torque (p &lt; 0.001) and at higher velocities (p = 0.02).Conclusion: Velocity dependence of spasticity is partially due to joint angle position dependence with the joint moved further (to a stiffer position where higher resistance was felt) at a higher velocity. The “4-dimensional characterization” including the joint angle, velocity, torque, and torque change rate provides a systematic tool to characterize catch angle and spasticity quantitatively

Trans-Anastomotic Drainage Tube Placement After Hand-Sewn Anastomosis in Patients Undergoing Intersphincteric Resection for Low Rectal Cancer: An Alternative Drainage Method

Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a common complication after intersphincteric resection (ISR). It significantly reduces quality of life and causes great distress to patients. Although traditional drainage (e.g., anal and pelvic catheters) may reduce the impact of AL to some extent, their role in reducing the incidence of AL remains controversial. In this study, we developed a novel drainage technique involving the placement of drainage tubes through the gap between sutures during handsewn anastomosis, to reduce the occurrence of anastomotic leakage. We retrospectively analyzed 34 consecutive patients who underwent intersphincteric resection requiring handsewn anastomosis between February 1, 2017, and January 1, 2021. Patients were classified into the trans-anastomotic drainage tube group (TADT, n = 14) and the non-TADT group (n = 20) based on whether trans-anastomotic tube placement was performed. The incidence of postoperative complications, such as AL, was compared between the two groups, and anal function of patients at 1-year post-ISR was evaluated. Six cases of AL occurred in the non-TADT group, while none occurred in the TADT group; this difference was statistically significant (p=0.031). The TADT group also had a shorter hospital stay (p=0.007). There were no other significant intergroup differences in operation time, blood loss, pain score, anastomotic stenosis, intestinal obstruction, or incidence of wound infection. In the 30 patients (88.2%) evaluated for anal function, there were no significant intergroup differences in stool frequency, urgency, daytime/nocturnal soiling, Wexner incontinence score, or Kirwan grading. Taken together, trans-anastomotic tube placement is a novel drainage method that may reduce AL after ISR requiring handsewn anastomosis and without adversely affecting anal function

Evaluation of the competence of an artificial intelligence-assisted colonoscopy system in clinical practice: A post hoc analysis

BackgroundArtificial intelligence-assisted colonoscopy (AIAC) has been proposed and validated in recent years, but the effectiveness of clinic application remains unclear since it was only validated in some clinical trials rather than normal conditions. In addition, previous clinical trials were mostly concerned with colorectal polyp identification, while fewer studies are focusing on adenoma identification and polyps size measurement. In this study, we validated the effectiveness of AIAC in the clinical environment and further investigated its capacity for adenoma identification and polyps size measurement.MethodsThe information of 174 continued patients who went for coloscopy in Chongqing Rongchang District People’s hospital with detected colon polyps was retrospectively collected, and their coloscopy images were divided into three validation datasets, polyps dataset, polyps/adenomas dataset (all containing narrow band image, NBI images), and polyp size measurement dataset (images with biopsy forceps and polyps) to assess the competence of the artificial intelligence system, and compare its diagnostic ability with endoscopists with different experiences.ResultsA total of 174 patients were included, and the sensitivity of the colorectal polyp recognition model was 99.40%, the accuracy of the colorectal adenoma diagnostic model was 93.06%, which was higher than that of endoscopists, and the mean absolute error of the polyp size measurement model was 0.62 mm and the mean relative error was 10.89%, which was lower than that of endoscopists.ConclusionArtificial intelligence-assisted model demonstrated higher competence compared with endoscopists and stable diagnosis ability in clinical use

Anomalous superconducting proximity effect of planar Pb-RhPb2 heterojunctions in the clean limit

Interest in superconducting proximity effect has been revived by the exploitation of Andreev states and by the possible emergence of Majorana bound states at the interface. Spectroscopy of these states has been so far restricted to just a handful of superconductor-metal systems in the diffusion regime, whereas reports in otherwise clean superconductor-superconductor heterojunctions are scarce. Here, we realize molecular beam epitaxy growth of atomically sharp planar heterojunctions between Pb and a topological superconductor candidate RhPb2 that allows us to spectroscopically image the proximity effect in the clean limit. The measured energy spectra of RhPb2 vary with the spatial separation from proximal Pb, and exhibit unusual modifications in the pairing gap structure and size that extend over a distance far beyond the coherence length. This anomalously long-range proximity (LRP) effect breaks the rotational symmetry of Cooper pair potential in real space and largely deforms the Abrikosov vortex cores. Our work opens promising avenues for fundamental studies of the Andreev physics and extraordinary states in clean superconducting heterojunctions.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure