Primary School CDT:

It would be helpful initially to ask why we should engage in an activity such as CDT in the primary school. It might suffice merely to say 'Why not?' CDT exists as a discipline within the secondary phase; primary schools are preparing children for 'the big school', therefore why not prepare them with a helping of CDT before they reach secondary school? There are a number of misconceptions in this line of argument

Innovation in Planning Space Debris Removal Missions Using Artificial Intelligence and Quantum-Inspired Computing

This paper proposes an optimisation solution and tool-set for planning an active debris removal mission, enabling a single spacecraft to deorbit multiple space debris objects in one mission efficiently. A two-step strategy is proposed; first, an Artificial Neural Network is trained to predict the cost of orbital transfer to and disposal of a range of debris objects quickly. Then, this information is used to plan a mission of four captures from 100 possible debris targets using Fujitsu’s quantum-inspired optimisation technology, called Digital Annealer, by formulating the problem as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimisation. In validation, this platform produced a 25% faster mission, using 18% less propellant when compared to an expert’s attempt to plan the mission using the same assumptions, this solution was found 170,000 times faster than current methods

Cervical radiculopathy: Study protocol of a randomised clinical trial evaluating the effect of mobilisations and exercises targeting the opening of intervertebral foramen [NCT01500044]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cervical radiculopathy is a common form of neck pain and has been shown to lead to severe disability. Clinical rehabilitation approaches for cervical radiculopathies commonly include exercise and manual therapy interventions targeting the opening of intervertebral foramen, but evidence regarding their effectiveness is scarce. The primary objective of this randomised clinical trial is to compare, in terms of pain and disability, a rehabilitation program targeting the opening of intervertebral foramen to a conventional rehabilitation program, for patients presenting acute or subacute cervical radiculopathies. The hypothesis is that the rehabilitation program targeting the opening of intervertebral foramen will be significantly more effective in reducing pain and disability than the conventional rehabilitation program.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This study is a double-blind (participants and evaluators blinded) randomised clinical trial that will allow the comparison of patients with a cervical radiculopathy randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group will receive a 4-week rehabilitation program targeting the opening of intervertebral foramen, and the second group will receive a 4-week conventional rehabilitation program. Thirty-six subjects with cervical radiculopathy will be recruited from participating medical and physiotherapy clinics and will be evaluated at baseline, at the end of the 4-week program and four weeks following the end of the program. The primary outcome measure will be the validated Neck Disability Index questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures will include the short version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire, a numerical pain rating scale, cervicothoracic mobility and patients' perceived global rating of change. During the 4-week rehabilitation program, each participant will take part in eight physiotherapy treatment sessions (2 session/week) and will perform a home exercise program. A mixed-model, 2-way ANOVA will be used to analyze the effects of the rehabilitation programs.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Control trials are needed to define ideal intervention approaches in rehabilitation for this population. This randomised clinical trial will be the first study that directly compares a rehabilitation program targeting the opening of intervertebral foramen to a conventional rehabilitation program for patients with cervical radiculopathy. The results of this study may help to establish best clinical practice guidelines for this patient population.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01500044">NCT01500044</a></p

Spina accresco mechanicus: on the developmental biomechanics of the spine

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002Epidemiological data and clinical indicia reveal devastating consequences associated with pediatric neck injuries. Neither injury prevention nor clinical management strategies will be able to effectively reduce these effects on children, without an understanding of cervical spine developmental biomechanics. This investigation examines the biomechanical characteristics (functional biomechanics and tolerance) and morphological patho-mechanics of injury (tissue failure) in the maturing cervical spine. The cadaveric baboon (Papio anubis) spine, an anatomic and kinematic analog to the human cadaveric spine, served as the model to investigate these issues across the developmental spectrum. Significant relationships were discovered between both structural and material properties and developmental age. Further, significant gender, spinal level and loading rate effects were found to be associated with the mechanical development of the spine. Structural properties were strongly correlated with maturation indicating that tissue size may be a positive predictive tool. Unfortunately, size alone cannot predict pediatric spinal mechanics since its material properties also increased with development. The complex maturation process involves concomitant increases in both intrinsic material properties and structure giving rise to an age-specific mechanical response of the spine. These functional and tolerance data were employed in computational modeling efforts, which may facilitate the generation of enhanced pediatric injury prevention schema. The functional biomechanics data were used to generate maturation-specific constituent relationships and the tolerance data provide injury criteria for this computational model as well as physical (anthropomorphic test dummy) models. Another facet of this research evaluated clinically relevant injuries to identify the patho-mechanical response of the developing spine. Every injury created in the pediatric spine involved the failure of the growth plate (physis) regardless of mechanism. In compression the compromised growth plate was associated with vertebral fractures or disc herniations. Tensile mechanisms involved the growth plate zone of calcification separating from the vertebral body, yet this severe injury did not affect the developing intervertebral disc. These patterns support a physis focused assessment and management of pediatric injuries. The sum of this research fills a dearth in the developmental biomechanics literature concerning the spinal mechanical characteristics motivating injury prevention and the spinal patho-mechanical patterns aiding clinical management techniques