Pediatric Trainer: Giving Children a Helping Hand

The Pediatric Trainer device is designed to be an add-on to a body-powered, voluntary-close pediatric arm prosthetic that will help children learn to use their prostheses faster. It will give auditory feedback based on the amount of force exerted by the toddler. The inspiration behind this design is Michael Haag, who was born without a fully developed left hand (unilateral congenital below-the-elbow deficiency); he started attending therapy sessions when he was just over a year old to learn how to use his body-powered voluntary-close prosthetic arm. These therapy sessions are short and sporadic throughout the year; therefore Michael does not receive constant reinforcement of how to use his new and unfamiliar prosthetic device. Although Michael Haag is the motivation behind the design of this product, it will ultimately be marketed to toddlers and young children, specifically ages 2-4 years old, who use body-powered voluntary- close arm prosthetics.The add-on consists of a strain gauge mounted on a u-shaped aluminum mount, which is attached in-line to the cable on the terminal end of the prosthetic device. The strain gauge is connected into a circuit to produce a voltage output, which is then converted from an analogue signal to a digital signal. An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) chip is used to activate a specific sound chip according to the strain measured. The sound chip will then play a pre-recorded voice segment giving the child constant positive feedback when they use their prosthetic device; thereby aiding in the learning process of the toddler

Pediatric Trainer: Giving Children a Helping Hand

The Pediatric Trainer device is designed to be an add-on to a body-powered, voluntary-close pediatric arm prosthetic that will help children learn to use their prostheses faster. It will give auditory feedback based on the amount of force exerted by the toddler. The inspiration behind this design is Michael Haag, who was born without a fully developed left hand (unilateral congenital below-the-elbow deficiency); he started attending therapy sessions when he was just over a year old to learn how to use his body-powered voluntary-close prosthetic arm. These therapy sessions are short and sporadic throughout the year; therefore Michael does not receive constant reinforcement of how to use his new and unfamiliar prosthetic device. Although Michael Haag is the motivation behind the design of this product, it will ultimately be marketed to toddlers and young children, specifically ages 2-4 years old, who use body-powered voluntary- close arm prosthetics.The add-on consists of a strain gauge mounted on a u-shaped aluminum mount, which is attached in-line to the cable on the terminal end of the prosthetic device. The strain gauge is connected into a circuit to produce a voltage output, which is then converted from an analogue signal to a digital signal. An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) chip is used to activate a specific sound chip according to the strain measured. The sound chip will then play a pre-recorded voice segment giving the child constant positive feedback when they use their prosthetic device; thereby aiding in the learning process of the toddler

Lip rejuvenation and filler complications in the perioral region

Lip and perioral augmentation procedures have become increasingly popular over the last two decades due to cultural trends, emphasizing youth and beauty. An understanding of lip anatomy and aesthetics has traditionally formed the basis for successful results. However, as new technology becomes available, patient standards have increased, requiring an intricate understanding of filler properties and the advantages of different technical approaches. This chapter touches on pertinent anatomy and aesthetics of perioral evaluation. It also provides an overview of the properties of the fillers currently available in the United States marketplace for perioral rejuvenation. The technique and materials currently favored by the senior author are described in greater detail. Finally, the chapter will overview potential complications and recommended management

Retrotransposons Are the Major Contributors to the Expansion of the Drosophila ananassae Muller F Element.

The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to differences in repeat density. The Muller F element (∼5.2 Mb) is the smallest chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is substantially larger (>18.7 Mb) in D. ananassae To identify the major contributors to the expansion of the F element and to assess their impact, we improved the genome sequence and annotated the genes in a 1.4-Mb region of the D. ananassae F element, and a 1.7-Mb region from the D element for comparison. We find that transposons (particularly LTR and LINE retrotransposons) are major contributors to this expansion (78.6%), while Wolbachia sequences integrated into the D. ananassae genome are minor contributors (0.02%). Both D. melanogaster and D. ananassae F-element genes exhibit distinct characteristics compared to D-element genes (e.g., larger coding spans, larger introns, more coding exons, and lower codon bias), but these differences are exaggerated in D. ananassae Compared to D. melanogaster, the codon bias observed in D. ananassae F-element genes can primarily be attributed to mutational biases instead of selection. The 5' ends of F-element genes in both species are enriched in dimethylation of lysine 4 on histone 3 (H3K4me2), while the coding spans are enriched in H3K9me2. Despite differences in repeat density and gene characteristics, D. ananassae F-element genes show a similar range of expression levels compared to genes in euchromatic domains. This study improves our understanding of how transposons can affect genome size and how genes can function within highly repetitive domains

Retrotransposons Are the Major Contributors to the Expansion of the Drosophila ananassae Muller F Element

The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to differences in repeat density. The Muller F element (∼5.2 Mb) is the smallest chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is substantially larger (>18.7 Mb) in D. ananassae. To identify the major contributors to the expansion of the F element and to assess their impact, we improved the genome sequence and annotated the genes in a 1.4-Mb region of the D. ananassae F element, and a 1.7-Mb region from the D element for comparison. We find that transposons (particularly LTR and LINE retrotransposons) are major contributors to this expansion (78.6%), while Wolbachia sequences integrated into the D. ananassae genome are minor contributors (0.02%). Both D. melanogaster and D. ananassae F-element genes exhibit distinct characteristics compared to D-element genes (e.g., larger coding spans, larger introns, more coding exons, and lower codon bias), but these differences are exaggerated in D. ananassae. Compared to D. melanogaster, the codon bias observed in D. ananassae F-element genes can primarily be attributed to mutational biases instead of selection. The 5′ ends of F-element genes in both species are enriched in dimethylation of lysine 4 on histone 3 (H3K4me2), while the coding spans are enriched in H3K9me2. Despite differences in repeat density and gene characteristics, D. ananassae F-element genes show a similar range of expression levels compared to genes in euchromatic domains. This study improves our understanding of how transposons can affect genome size and how genes can function within highly repetitive domains

\u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25–50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3–11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11–27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4–3.6 vs. 8.4–8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu