Optimal peripheral nerve stimulation intensity for paired associative stimulation with high-frequency peripheral component in healthy subjects

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Paired associative stimulation (PAS) with high-frequency peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), called “high-PAS”, induces motor-evoked potential (MEP) potentiation in healthy subjects and improves muscle activity and independence in incomplete spinal cord injury patients. Data on optimal PNS intensity in PAS are scarce. In a high-PAS protocol, PNS intensity is defined as “minimal intensity required to produce F-responses”. We sought to further refine this definition and to investigate how PNS intensity affects PAS outcome. Two experiments were performed on 10 healthy subjects where MEP amplitude change was measured 0, 30, and 60 min after PAS. In the first experiment, the intensity required to achieve 7/10 persistence of F-responses was used to define PNS intensity level. In the second experiment, we used the intensity required to achieve 1/10 persistence (“baseline”). In addition, we applied this intensity at + 25%, − 25%, and − 50% levels. In the first experiment, PAS did not produce significant MEP potentiation. In the second experiment, PAS produced statistically significant MEP potentiation, with PNS intensity of “baseline” and “baseline − 25%” levels but not at + 25% or − 50% levels. In conclusion, for PAS utilizing high-frequency PNS, the intensity required to achieve 1/10 F-response persistence or the intensity 25% lower produces significant MEP potentiation in healthy subjects.Peer reviewe

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Lasten ahdistuneisuuden tutkiminen piirustuksista EOS®-kuvantamistutkimuksessa

Lapselle sairaalaan joutuminen on aina poikkeava tilanne. Tutkimusten mukaan tämä herättää lapsessa pelkoa ja sitä tulisi pyrkiä vähentämään. Lasten kokemuksia sairaalasta heidän itsensä kertomana on kuitenkin tutkittu vasta hyvin vähän, sillä lasten tutkimiseen liittyy erityispiirteitä. Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tutkia 4-11-vuotiaiden lasten ahdistuneisuuden tasoa piirustuksista EOS® -kuvantamistutkimuksen yhteydessä Varsinais-Suomen sairaanhoitopiirin alueella. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on lisätä tietoa lasten emotionaalisista kokemuksista sairaalassa, jotta lasten sairaanhoitoa voidaan kehittää entistä lapsilähtöisemmäksi. Tutkimuksen myötä Child Drawing Hospital -mittaria voidaan mahdollisesti hyödyntää jatkossa laajemmin arvioitaessa lasten kokemusta sairaalasta Suomessa. Kvalitatiivinen tutkimus toteutettiin projektiivisena menetelmänä analysoimalla EOS®-kuvantamistutkimuksessa käyneiden 4-11-vuotiaiden lasten (n=36) piirustukset CD:H -mittaria apuna käyttäen. Lasten piirustuksista saadut kokonaispistemäärät vaihtelivat 32 pisteestä 146 pisteeseen eli erittäin alhaisesta ahdistuneisuudesta keskimääräistä korkeampaan ahdistuneisuuteen. Pojat saivat keskimäärin hieman enemmän pisteitä kaikissa osioissa verrattuna tyttöihin. Korkeimmat ahdistuneisuuspisteet saivat 4-vuotiaat lapset. Verrattain korkeita pisteitä saivat 10- ja 11-vuotiaat lapset. Aiempien käyntien määrällä sekä kokonaispisteillä oli keskenään yhteys, sillä ahdistuneisuuspisteet vähenivät johdonmukaisesti käyntikertojen lisääntyessä. Piirtämistä lapsen ilmaisukeinona tulisi vielä jatkossa tutkia suuremmalla joukolla. CD:H -mittarilla ei yksinään saada luotettavaa tulosta, mutta se sopii hyvin piirustusten analysoinnin tueksi muiden menetelmien ohella. Suomeen voisi luoda CD:H -mittarin pohjalta selkeämmän ja helppokäyttöisemmän hoitotyön arkeen tarkoitetun piirustusten arviointimittarin arvioimaan lapsen emotionaalista kokemusta.Getting hospitalized is always an unusual experience for a child. Research shows that many children experience fear while attending in the hospital. This fear ought to be relieved. Researching children's experiences is a complicated and difficult task. Because of that, especially research about children's experiences expressed by themselves while attending the hospital is quite uncommon. The purpose of this thesis was to study anxiety levels of 4-11 -year old children visiting in EOS® imaging in the Hospital District of South West Finland. The goal is to get more information about the emotional experiences of children in order to provide material for developing pediatric care more child-oriented. With the study, the Child Drawing: Hospital instrument can possibly be made more widely used when evaluating the children´s experiences when attending to the hospital in Finland. This qualitative research was done as a projective method by analyzing drawings of 4-11- year old children (n =36) who had been in the EOS® imaging. The analysis was made using a three-piece CD: H. Overall score varied from 32 points to 146 points, showing results of anxiety levels ranging from very low to above average. Boys got on average more points than girls in every section. Four-year-old children got the highest results. Higher points were also seen in 10- and 11-year old children's drawings. A consistent correlation was found between a number of visits to the hospital and measured anxiety. Measured anxiety decreased when the number of visits to the hospital increased. Drawing as a method of children's self-expression should be researched more and in a wider scope. CD: H instrument alone does not produce reliable results, but it is well suited to support analyzing drawings, along with other methods. A More suitable, cleaner and easier tool could be created from the basis of CD: H to be used in Finland for evaluation children's emotional experiences while attending to the hospital

In Situ Transformation of Electrospun Nanofibers into Nanofiber-Reinforced Hydrogels

Nanofiber-reinforced hydrogels have recently gained attention in biomedical engineering. Such three-dimensional scaffolds show the mechanical strength and toughness of fibers while benefiting from the cooling and absorbing properties of hydrogels as well as a large pore size, potentially aiding cell migration. While many of such systems are prepared by complicated processes where fibers are produced separately to later be embedded in a hydrogel, we here provide proof of concept for a one-step solution. In more detail, we produced core-shell nanofibers from the natural proteins zein and gelatin by coaxial electrospinning. Upon hydration, the nanofibers were capable of directly transforming into a nanofiber-reinforced hydrogel, where the nanofibrous structure was retained by the zein core, while the gelatin-based shell turned into a hydrogel matrix. Our nanofiber-hydrogel composite showed swelling to ~800% of its original volume and water uptake of up to ~2500% in weight. The physical integrity of the nanofiber-reinforced hydrogel was found to be significantly improved in comparison to a hydrogel system without nanofibers. Additionally, tetracycline hydrochloride was incorporated into the fibers as an antimicrobial agent, and antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was confirmed

A new Time-of-flight detector for the R 3 B setup

© 2022, The Author(s).We present the design, prototype developments and test results of the new time-of-flight detector (ToFD) which is part of the R3B experimental setup at GSI and FAIR, Darmstadt, Germany. The ToFD detector is able to detect heavy-ion residues of all charges at relativistic energies with a relative energy precision σΔE/ ΔE of up to 1% and a time precision of up to 14 ps (sigma). Together with an elaborate particle-tracking system, the full identification of relativistic ions from hydrogen up to uranium in mass and nuclear charge is possible.11Nsciescopu