Attention Mechanisms in EMG Biofeedback

This study assessed the impact of selected task, instructional and personological variables as they contribute to relaxation during frontalis EMG biofeedback. Subjects (_n = 60) divided equally by sex and high versus low absorption were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Four groups (n = 48) comprised a Feedback x Instruction factorial and were provided either contingent or noncontingent feedback information and pre-training instructions that either emphasized a passive attention approach to acquired self-relaxation or were nonspecific. Care was taken to avoid task instructions for noncontingent feedback subjects which would be deceiving or countertherapeutic. A fifth no-treatment (resting) control group was also included to assess the affects of adaptation on frontalis EMG. Relaxation was operationally defined by changes in frontalis EMG as observed across three training sessions. The results indicated that subjects receiving contingent EMG biofeedback were significantly lower in frontalis muscle tension across sessions. However, subjects in general did not demonstrate a significant negative linear trend in EMG during training and treatment conditions did not differ significantly from no-treatment controls in rate of within-session decline of EMG. Pre-training instructions, gender and absorption main effects were nonsignificant but a significant Instruction x Sex x Absorption interaction was obtained. Relaxation performance during Session 1 was found to significantly predict EMG levels for Session 3. The findings were interpreted to provide only partial support for the efficacy of EMG biofeedback. In addition, learned control of relaxation was viewed as a complex process involving interactions among instructional, task and individual difference factors

Attention Mechanisms in EMG Biofeedback

This study assessed the impact of selected task, instructional and personological variables as they contribute to relaxation during frontalis EMG biofeedback. Subjects (_n = 60) divided equally by sex and high versus low absorption were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Four groups (n = 48) comprised a Feedback x Instruction factorial and were provided either contingent or noncontingent feedback information and pre-training instructions that either emphasized a passive attention approach to acquired self-relaxation or were nonspecific. Care was taken to avoid task instructions for noncontingent feedback subjects which would be deceiving or countertherapeutic. A fifth no-treatment (resting) control group was also included to assess the affects of adaptation on frontalis EMG. Relaxation was operationally defined by changes in frontalis EMG as observed across three training sessions. The results indicated that subjects receiving contingent EMG biofeedback were significantly lower in frontalis muscle tension across sessions. However, subjects in general did not demonstrate a significant negative linear trend in EMG during training and treatment conditions did not differ significantly from no-treatment controls in rate of within-session decline of EMG. Pre-training instructions, gender and absorption main effects were nonsignificant but a significant Instruction x Sex x Absorption interaction was obtained. Relaxation performance during Session 1 was found to significantly predict EMG levels for Session 3. The findings were interpreted to provide only partial support for the efficacy of EMG biofeedback. In addition, learned control of relaxation was viewed as a complex process involving interactions among instructional, task and individual difference factors

Attention Mechanisms in EMG Biofeedback

This study assessed the impact of selected task, instructional and personological variables as they contribute to relaxation during frontalis EMG biofeedback. Subjects (_n = 60) divided equally by sex and high versus low absorption were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Four groups (n = 48) comprised a Feedback x Instruction factorial and were provided either contingent or noncontingent feedback information and pre-training instructions that either emphasized a passive attention approach to acquired self-relaxation or were nonspecific. Care was taken to avoid task instructions for noncontingent feedback subjects which would be deceiving or countertherapeutic. A fifth no-treatment (resting) control group was also included to assess the affects of adaptation on frontalis EMG. Relaxation was operationally defined by changes in frontalis EMG as observed across three training sessions. The results indicated that subjects receiving contingent EMG biofeedback were significantly lower in frontalis muscle tension across sessions. However, subjects in general did not demonstrate a significant negative linear trend in EMG during training and treatment conditions did not differ significantly from no-treatment controls in rate of within-session decline of EMG. Pre-training instructions, gender and absorption main effects were nonsignificant but a significant Instruction x Sex x Absorption interaction was obtained. Relaxation performance during Session 1 was found to significantly predict EMG levels for Session 3. The findings were interpreted to provide only partial support for the efficacy of EMG biofeedback. In addition, learned control of relaxation was viewed as a complex process involving interactions among instructional, task and individual difference factors

Laparoscopic Paraesophageal Hernia Repair with Acellular Dermal Matrix Cruroplasty

This study suggests that laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair with acellular dermal matrix Cruroplasty is an effective method of repairing symptomatic paraesophageal hernias with a low perioperative morbidity

Spinorial Characterization of Surfaces into 3-dimensional homogeneous Manifolds

We give a spinorial characterization of isometrically immersed surfaces into 3-dimensional homogeneous manifolds with 4-dimensional isometry group in terms of the existence of a particular spinor, called generalized Killing spinor. This generalizes results by T. Friedrich for $\R^3$ and B. Morel for \Ss^3 and \HH^3. The main argument is the interpretation of the energy-momentum tensor of a genralized Killing spinor as the second fondamental form up to a tensor depending on the structure of the ambient spaceComment: 35 page

A multi-modal data resource for investigating topographic heterogeneity in patient-derived xenograft tumors.

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) are an essential pre-clinical resource for investigating tumor biology. However, cellular heterogeneity within and across PDX tumors can strongly impact the interpretation of PDX studies. Here, we generated a multi-modal, large-scale dataset to investigate PDX heterogeneity in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) across tumor models, spatial scales and genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and imaging assay modalities. To showcase this dataset, we present analysis to assess sources of PDX variation, including anatomical orientation within the implanted tumor, mouse contribution, and differences between replicate PDX tumors. A unique aspect of our dataset is deep characterization of intra-tumor heterogeneity via immunofluorescence imaging, which enables investigation of variation across multiple spatial scales, from subcellular to whole tumor levels. Our study provides a benchmark data resource to investigate PDX models of metastatic CRC and serves as a template for future, quantitative investigations of spatial heterogeneity within and across PDX tumor models

Prospective, multicenter study of P4HB (Phasix) mesh for hernia repair in cohort at risk for complications: 3-Year follow-up

Background: This study represents a prospective, multicenter, open-label study to assess the safety, performance, and outcomes of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB, Phasix) mesh for primary ventral, primary incisional, or multiply-recurrent hernia in subjects at risk for complications. This study reports 3-year clinical outcomes. Materials and methods: P4HB mesh was implanted in 121 patients via retrorectus or onlay technique. Physical exam and/or quality of life surveys were completed at 1, 3, 6,12, 18, 24, and 36 months, with 5-year (60-month) follow-up ongoing. Results: A total of n = 121 patients were implanted with P4HB mesh (n = 75 (62%) female) with a mean age of 54.7 +/- 12.0 years and mean BMI of 32.2 +/- 4.5 kg/m(2) (+/-standard deviation). Comorbidities included: obesity (78.5%), active smokers (23.1%), COPD (28.1%), diabetes mellitus (33.1%), immunosuppression (8.3%), coronary artery disease (21.5%), chronic corticosteroid use (5.0%), hypo-albuminemia (2.5%), advanced age (5.0%), and renal insufficiency (0.8%). Hernias were repaired via retrorectus (n = 45, 37.2% with myofascial release (MR) or n = 43, 35.5% without MR), onlay (n = 8, 6.6% with MR or n = 24, 19.8% without MR), or not reported (n = 1, 0.8%). 82 patients (67.8%) completed 36-month follow-up. 17 patients (17.9% +/- 0.4%) experienced hernia recurrence at 3 years, with n = 9 in the retrorectus group and n = 8 in the onlay group. SSI (n = 11) occurred in 9.3% +/- 0.03% of patients. Conclusions: Long-term outcomes following ventral hernia repair with P4HB mesh demonstrate low recurrence rates at 3-year (36-month) postoperative time frame with no patients developing late mesh complications or requiring mesh removal. 5-year (60-month) follow-up is ongoing