Active and Passive Brain-Computer Interfaces Integrated with Extended Reality for Applications in Health 4.0

This paper presents the integration of extended reality (XR) with brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to open up new possibilities in the health 4.0 framework. Such integrated systems are here investigated with respect to an active and a passive BCI paradigm. Regarding the active BCI, the XR part consists of providing visual and vibrotactile feedbacks to help the user during motor imagery tasks. Therefore, XR aims to enhance the neurofeedback by enhancing the user engagement. Meanwhile, in the passive BCI, user engagement monitoring allows the adaptivity of a XR-based rehabilitation game for children. Preliminary results suggest that the XR neurofeedback helps the BCI users to carry on motor imagery tasks with up to 84% classification accuracy, and that the level of emotional and cognitive engagement can be detected with an accuracy greater than 75%

A finite element model of abdominal human tissue for improving the accuracy in insulin absorption assessment: A feasibility study

A Finite Element Model of the human abdomen biomechanics for patients undergoing diabetes therapies was developed. In particular, FEM was used to improve a previous insulin absorption measurement method based on bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS). As a matter of facts, the noise introduced during the insulin injection phase significantly affects the BIS measurements. The noise, due to the pressure exerted on the abdomen tissue, arises sensibility issues on the signal correlated to the drug presence under the skin. In this study, the abdomen is modeled with three layers (skin, fat and muscle). A feasibility study about the decoupling of the mechanical deformation and the electrical dynamics is presented in order to model the effect of mechanical uncertainty sources (e.g., pressure exerted during the injection phase and/or breathing) on the impedance measurements. The proposed simplified model is realised by referring to the average values of skin, fat and muscle thickness, along with mechanical abdomen parameters al-ready presented and validated in scientific literature. The obtained results confirm the possibility to decouple me-chanical and electrical analyses when the excitation voltage is characterized by a frequency higher than 1 kHz. The results will be used to improve the accuracy of an exhaustive approach, already developed by the authors, for real-time insulin absorption measurement

Immunomodulatory biomimetic nanoparticles target articular cartilage trauma after systemic administration

Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is one of the leading causes of disability in developed countries and accounts for 12% of all osteoarthritis cases in the United States. After trauma, inflammatory cells (macrophages amongst others) are quickly recruited within the inflamed synovium and infiltrate the joint space, initiating dysregulation of cartilage tissue homeostasis. Current therapeutic strategies are ineffective, and PTOA remains an open clinical challenge. Here, the targeting potential of liposome-based nanoparticles (NPs) is evaluated in a PTOA mouse model, during the acute phase of inflammation, in both sexes. NPs are composed of biomimetic phospholipids or functionalized with macrophage membrane proteins. Intravenous administra-tion of NPs in the acute phase of PTOA and advanced in vivo imaging techniques reveal prefer-ential accumulation of NPs within the injured joint for up to 7 days post injury, in comparison to controls. Finally, imaging mass cytometry uncovers an extraordinary immunomodulatory effect of NPs that are capable of decreasing the amount of immune cells infiltrating the joint and conditioning their phenotype. Thus, biomimetic NPs could be a powerful theranostic tool for PTOA as their accumulation in injury sites allows their identification and they have an intrinsic immunomodulatory effect

Bifidobacterial transfer from mother to child as examined by an animal model

Bifidobacteria commonly constitute the most abundant group of microorganisms in the healthy infant gut. Their intestinal establishment is believed to be maternally driven, and their acquisition has even been postulated to occur during pregnancy. In the current study, we evaluated bifidobacterial mother-to infant transmission events in a rat model by means of quantitative PCR (qPCR), as well as by Internally Transcribed Spacer (ITS) bifidobacterial profiling. The occurrence of strains supplied by mothers during pregnancy to their corresponding newborns was observed and identified by analysis immediately following C-section delivery. These findings provide intriguing support for the existence of an unknown route to facilitate bifidobacterial transfer during the very early stages of life

Reasons for the Sex Bias in Osteoarthritis Research: A Review of Preclinical Studies

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative diseases of articular cartilage. During OA, all the elements that contribute to the joint undergo physiological and structural changes that impair the joint function and cause joint pain and stiffness. OA can arise naturally, with the aging population witnessing an increase in diagnoses of this pathology, but the root causes of OA have yet to be identified, and increasing interest is arising towards investigating biological sex as a risk factor. Clinical studies show increased prevalence and worse clinical outcomes for female patients, yet most clinical and preclinical studies have disproportionately focused on male subjects. This review provides a critical overview of preclinical practices in the context of OA, highlighting the underlying need for taking biological sex as both a risk factor and an important component affecting treatment outcome. A unique insight into the possible reasons for female underrepresentation in preclinical studies is offered, including factors such as lack of specific guidelines requiring the analysis of sex as a biological variable (SABV), research-associated costs and animal handling, and wrongful application of the reduction principle. Additionally, a thorough investigation of sex-related variables is provided, stressing how each of them could add valuable information for the understanding of OA pathophysiology, as well as sex-dependent treatment strategies

A way of transformation. research and training with theater in pre-school education

Involving children in theatre at school means ritualizing and progressively enhancing the educational valence of a language and a natural inclination that are typical of both children and educational settings. In this paper, we present the outcomes of an action research project involving childhood education services, educators, teachers, children and their families, which allowed us to experience the implicitly theatrical dimension of school life and more consciously help it to emerge. The aim of this training and research programme was to systematise diverse projects – all centred around theatre, theatricality and its various forms – that were already ongoing in early childhood education centres and preschools. Through this programme, we set out to train teachers and educators in recognizing and harnessing the educational potential inherent in theatre, both in the course of their everyday educational practice and in designing and implementing cycles of workshops based on the languages and techniques of theatre. Two specific research hypotheses were formulated by the research team. The first hypothesis was that theatre is already part of daily educational action with pre-schoolers, because it is present in the domains of narrative, symbolic play, expressive and bodily play, self-discovery and self-expression in the group context. Hence, we set out through our research to identify the existing relationship between theatre and everyday educational practice, between the visible and invisible theatres that are already present in our schools; we also wished to identify the urgent areas of need in which theatre can act as a vehicle and driver of educational change. The second hypothesis concerned the transformative function that theatre can fulfil in (pre)school settings: the research aim here was to identify the conditions under which theatre can bring about change in any educational context, by facilitating cognitive decentring, enhancing subjects’ awareness of their “role” and their relationships with others, allowing them to “theatrically render” their relationships and mutual positioning, and leading them to discover new languages and expressive techniques

First experimental results with an apparatus for friction measurements

The static and dynamic coefficients of friction (CoF) are very often required for design and verification of machine components and systems. Unfortunately, their values for the specific application are hardly available since the CoF is affected by several factors. The most important ones are the contact conditions (conformal or non-conformal, dry or lubricated), the coupling materials and the surface topography. Moreover, it is well known that the values of the CoF depend also on the experimental conditions and apparatus used. In order to investigate the factors affecting the CoF, a simple modular experimental apparatus has been developed, capable to perform tests for the estimation of both static and dynamic CoFs. This study describes some first results obtained with the apparatus