Questioning Classic Patient Classification Techniques in Gait Rehabilitation: Insights from Wearable Haptic Technology

Classifying stroke survivors based on their walking abilities is an important part of the gait rehabilitation process. It can act as powerful indicator of function and prognosis in both the early days after a stroke and long after a survivor receives rehabilitation. This classification often relies solely on walking speed; a quick and easy measure, with only a stopwatch needed. However, walking speed may not be the most accurate way of judging individual’s walking ability. Advances in technology mean we are now in a position where ubiquitous and wearable technologies can be used to elicit much richer measures to characterise gait. In this paper we present a case study from one of our studies, where within a homogenous group of stroke survivors (based on walking speed classification) important differences in individual results and the way they responded to rhythmic haptic cueing were identified during the piloting of a novel gait rehabilitation technique

Designing a physical activity parenting course : parental views on recruitment, content and delivery

Background Many children do not engage in sufficient levels of physical activity (PA) and spend too much time screen-viewing (SV). High levels of SV (e.g. watching TV, playing video games and surfing the internet) and low levels of PA have been associated with adverse health outcomes. Parenting courses may hold promise as an intervention medium to change children’s PA and SV. The current study was formative work conducted to design a new parenting programme to increase children’s PA and reduce their SV. Specifically, we focussed on interest in a course, desired content and delivery style, barriers and facilitators to participation and opinions on control group provision. Methods In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with thirty two parents (29 female) of 6–8 year olds. Data were analysed thematically. An anonymous online survey was also completed by 750 parents of 6–8 year old children and descriptive statistics calculated. Results Interview participants were interested in a parenting course because they wanted general parenting advice and ideas to help their children be physically active. Parents indicated that they would benefit from knowing how to quantify their child’s PA and SV levels. Parents wanted practical ideas of alternatives to SV. Most parents would be unable to attend unless childcare was provided. Schools were perceived to be a trusted source of information about parenting courses and the optimal recruitment location. In terms of delivery style, the majority of parents stated they would prefer a group-based approach that provided opportunities for peer learning and support with professional input. Survey participants reported the timing of classes and the provision of childcare were essential factors that would affect participation. In terms of designing an intervention, the most preferred control group option was the opportunity to attend the same course at a later date. Conclusions Parents are interested in PA/SV parenting courses but the provision of child care is essential for attendance. Recruitment is likely to be facilitated via trusted sources. Parents want practical advice on how to overcome barriers and suggest advice is provided in a mutually supportive group experience with expert input

Mycosis fungoides bullosa: a case report and review of the literature

Introduction: Mycosis fungoides, the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, can manifest in a variety of clinical and histological forms. Bulla formation is an uncommon finding in mycosis fungoides and only approximately 20 cases have been reported in the literature. Case presentation: We present a case of rapidly progressive mycosis fungoides in a 68-year-old Caucasian man who initially presented with erythematous plaques characterised by blister formation. Conclusion: Although mycosis fungoides bullosa is extremely rare, it has to be regarded as an important clinical subtype of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Mycosis fungoides bullosa represents a particularly aggressive form of mycosis fungoides and is associated with a poor prognosis. The rapid disease progression in our patient confirms bulla formation as an adverse prognostic sign in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

A Neural Network for Stance Phase detection in smart cane users

Slides from conferencePersons with disabilities often rely on assistive devices to carry on their Activities of Daily Living. Deploying sensors on these devices may provide continuous valuable knowledge on their state and condition. Canes are among the most frequently used assistive devices, regularly employed for ambulation by persons with pain on lower limbs and also for balance. Load on canes is reportedly a meaningful condition indicator. Ideally, it corresponds to the time cane users support weight on their lower limb (stance phase). However, in reality, this relationship is not straightforward. We present a Multilayer Perceptron to reliably predict the Stance Phase in cane users using a simple support detection module on commercial canes. The system has been successfully tested on five cane users in care facilities in Spain. It has been optimized to run on a low cost microcontroller.This work has been supported by: Proyectos Puente and programa operativo de empleo juvenil (UMAJI58) and Plan Propio de Investigación at University of Malaga and the Swedish Knowledge Foundation (KKS) through the research profile Embedded Sensor Systems for Health (ESS−H) at Malardalen University, Sweden. Authors would like to ac- knowledge PONIENTE and LOS NARANJOS senior centers for their support during the tests. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Measurement of Exclusive B Decays to Final States Containing a Charmed Baryon

Using data collected by the CLEO detector in the Upsilon(4S) region, we report new measurements of the exclusive decays of B mesons into final states of the type Lambda_c^+ p-bar n(pi), where n=0,1,2,3. We find signals in modes with one, two and three pions and an upper limit for the two body decay Lambda_c^+ pbar. We also make the first measurements of exclusive decays of B mesons to Sigma_c p-bar n(pi), where n=0,1,2. We find signals in modes with one and two pions and an upper limit for the two body decay Sigma_c p-bar. Measurements of these modes shed light on the mechanisms involved in B decays to baryons.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

Higher-order multipole amplitudes in charmonium radiative transitions

Using 24 million $\psi' \equiv \psi(2S)$ decays in CLEO-c, we have searched for higher multipole admixtures in electric-dipole-dominated radiative transitions in charmonia. We find good agreement between our data and theoretical predictions for magnetic quadrupole (M2) amplitudes in the transitions $\psi' \to \gamma \chi_{c1,2}$ and $\chi_{c1,2} \to \gamma J/\psi$, in striking contrast to some previous measurements. Let $b_2^J$ and $a_2^J$ denote the normalized M2 amplitudes in the respective aforementioned decays, where the superscript $J$ refers to the angular momentum of the $\chi_{cJ}$. By performing unbinned maximum likelihood fits to full five-parameter angular distributions, we determine the ratios $a_2^{J=1}/a_2^{J=2} = 0.67^{+0.19}_{-0.13}$ and $a_2^{J=1}/b_2^{J=1} = -2.27^{+0.57}_{-0.99}$, where the theoretical predictions are independent of the charmed quark magnetic moment and are $a_2^{J=1}/a_2^{J=2} = 0.676 \pm 0.071$ and $a_2^{J=1}/b_2^{J=1} = -2.27 \pm 0.16$.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, acceptance updat

Enumeration of islets by nuclei counting and light microscopic analysis

Author Manuscript 2011 May 1.Islet enumeration in impure preparations by conventional dithizone staining and visual counting is inaccurate and operator dependent. We examined nuclei counting for measuring the total number of cells in islet preparations, and we combined it with morphological analysis by light microscopy (LM) for estimating the volume fraction of islets in impure preparations. Cells and islets were disrupted with lysis solution and shear, and accuracy of counting successively diluted nuclei suspensions was verified with (1) visual counting in a hemocytometer after staining with crystal violet, and automatic counting by (2) aperture electrical resistance measurement and (3) flow cytometer measurement after staining with 7-aminoactinomycin-D. DNA content averaged 6.5 and 6.9 pg of DNA per cell for rat and human islets, respectively, in agreement with literature estimates. With pure rat islet preparations, precision improved with increasing counts, and samples with about greater than or equal to 160 islets provided a coefficient of variation of about 6%. Aliquots of human islet preparations were processed for LM analysis by stereological point counting. Total nuclei counts and islet volume fraction from LM analysis were combined to obtain the number of islet equivalents (IEs). Total number of IE by the standard method of dithizone staining/manual counting was overestimated by about 90% compared with LM/nuclei counting for 12 freshly isolated human islet research preparations. Nuclei counting combined with islet volume fraction measurements from LM is a novel method for achieving accurate islet enumeration.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant NCRR ICR U4Z 16606)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-DK063108-01A1)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant NCRR ICR U42 RR0023244-01)Joslin Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center (Grant DK36836)Diabetes Research & Wellness FoundationJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (Islet Transplantation, Harvard Medical School

Dalitz Plot Analysis of Ds to K+K-pi+

We perform a Dalitz plot analysis of the decay Ds to K+K-pi+ with the CLEO-c data set of 586/pb of e+e- collisions accumulated at sqrt(s) = 4.17 GeV. This corresponds to about 0.57 million D_s+D_s(*)- pairs from which we select 14400 candidates with a background of roughly 15%. In contrast to previous measurements we find good agreement with our data only by including an additional f_0(1370)pi+ contribution. We measure the magnitude, phase, and fit fraction of K*(892) K+, phi(1020)pi+, K0*(1430)K+, f_0(980)pi+, f_0(1710)pi+, and f_0(1370)pi+ contributions and limit the possible contributions of other KK and Kpi resonances that could appear in this decay.Comment: 21 Pages,available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, submitted to PR

Search for D0 to p e- and D0 to pbar e+

Using data recorded by CLEO-c detector at CESR, we search for simultaneous baryon and lepton number violating decays of the D^0 meson, specifically, D^0 --> p-bar e^+, D^0-bar --> p-bar e^+, D^0 --> p e^- and D^0-bar --> p e^-. We set the following branching fraction upper limits: D^0 --> p-bar e^+ (D^0-bar --> p-bar e^+) p e^- (D^0-bar --> p e^-) < 1.2 * 10^{-5}, both at 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, submitted to PRD. Comments: changed abstract, added reference for section 1, vertical axis in Fig.5 changed (starts from 1.5 rather than 2.0), fixed typo