ESTIMATION OF STRETCH REFLEX CONTRIBUTIONS OF WRIST USING SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF TREMOR IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE PATIENTS

"The brain's motor control can be studied by characterizing the activity of spinal motor nuclei to brain control, expressed as motor unit activity recordable by surface electrodes". When a specific area is under consideration, the first step in investigation of the motor control system pertinent to it is the system identification of that specific body part or area. The aim of this research is to characterize the working of the brain's motor control system by carrying out system identification of the wrist joint area and quantifying tremor observed in Parkinson's disease patients. We employ the ARMAX system identification technique to gauge the intrinsic and reflexive components of wrist stiffness, in order to facilitate analysis of problems associated with Parkinson's disease. The intrinsic stiffness dynamics comprise majority of the total stiffness in the wrist joint and the reflexive stiffness dynamics contribute to the tremor characteristic commonly found in Parkinson's disease patients. The quantification of PD tremor entails using blind source separation of convolutive mixtures to obtain sources of tremor in patients suffering from movement disorders. The experimental data when treated with blind source separation reveals sources exhibiting the tremor frequency components of 3-8 Hz. System identification of stiffness dynamics and assessment of tremor can reveal the presence of additional abnormal neurological signs and early identification or diagnosis of these symptoms would be very advantageous for clinicians and will be instrumental to pave the way for better treatment of the disease

Thinking Outside The Box : The Potential of Management Training for Reducing Turnover in Warehouse/Distribution Environments

Avoidable turnover is a costly issue for firms, particularly in the warehousing industry. Retaining workers is an important priority which allows firms to meet complex and demanding customer service requirements. Distribution tasks such as order processing and fulfillment are highly labor intensive and further add to the cost of turnover. Increasing order volumes also tax firms operating within a growing e-commerce economy. A sustainable solution is needed for the avoidable turnover problem in such firms. By encouraging management development programs for first line managers through coaching it is expected that the avoidable turnover rates can be reduced effectively. The theory of human resource devolution links strategic policy to employee practices by using line managers as HR implementers. Through the targeted training of line managers firms will be able to reach more of their low-level employees, increasing job embedment, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and eventually retention rates. Several cases studies are reviewed, consisting of exploratory research on management training in warehouses as well as the barriers that improved human resource devolution currently faces. An applied case study from the Mayo Clinic is also referenced, concerning the implementation of a management training program in response to the high turnover rate of its medical staff. The literature review acknowledges the relatively new nature of its topic. Further research can be done, especially in the warehousing sector where there is both the potential for additional scholarship and a financial need to find cost effective solutions to the problem. Keywords: warehouse, first line manager, management coaching, training, development, turnover, retention, distribution, logistics, HR devolution, management training program, avoidable turnover, leader member exchange, Attraction Selection Attrition Framework, strategic human resources, leadershi

Chondrogenic potential of human articular chondrocytes and skeletal stem cells: a comparative study

Regenerative medicine strategies have increasingly focused on skeletal stem cells (SSCs), in response to concerns such as donor site morbidity, dedifferentiation and limited lifespan associated with the use of articular chondrocytes for cartilage repair. The suitability of SSCs for cartilage regeneration, however, remains to be fully determined. This study has examined the chondrogenic potential of human STRO-1-immunoselected SSCs (STRO-1+ SSCs), in comparison to human articular chondrocytes (HACs), by utilising two bioengineering strategies, namely ‘‘scaffold-free’’ three-dimensional(3-D) pellet culture and culture using commercially available, highly porous, 3-D scaffolds with interconnected pore networks. STRO-1+ SSCs were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting from bone marrow samples of haematologically normal osteoarthritic individuals following routine hip replacement procedures. Chondrocytes were isolated by sequential enzymatic digestion of deep zone articular cartilage pieces dissected from femoral heads of the same individuals. After expansion in monolayer cultures, the harvested cell populations were centrifuged to form high-density 3-D pellets and also seeded in the 3-D scaffold membranes, followed by culture in serum-free chondrogenic media under static conditions for 21 and 28 days, respectively. Chondrogenic differentiation was determined by gene expression,histological and immunohistochemical analyses. Robust cartilage formation and expression of hyaline cartilage-specific markers were observed in both day-21 pellets and day-28 explants generated using HACs. In comparison, STRO-1+ SSCs demonstrated significantly lower chondrogenic differentiation potential and a tendency for hypertrophic differentiation in day-21 pellets. Culture of STRO-1+ SSCs in the 3-D scaffolds improved the expression of hyaline cartilage-specific markers in day-28 explants, however, was unable to prevent hypertrophic differentiation of the SSC population. The advantages of application of SSCs in tissue engineering are widely recognised; the results of this study, however, highlight the need for further development of cell culture protocols that may otherwise limit the application of this stem cell population in cartilage bioengineering strategies

A Cell Biology Laboratory Exercise to Study Sub-Cellular Organelles in Drosophila

The fast-changing scenario of undergraduate education puts emphasis on introducing students to hands-on techniques as part of their laboratory courses. In order to cater to large numbers of students and the time constraints involved with undergraduate level laboratory courses, there is a need for development of experiments that are cost effective and can be completed in a defined time frame. We have devised a laboratory exercise for teaching cell biology using the Drosophila melanogaster model. Drosophila can be reared in a short period of time in a cost effective manner. We used Drosophila tissue to study the sub-cellular organization of eukaryotic cells using fluorescent markers. The idea of this lab exercise is to: (a) familiarize students with the underlying principles of cell structure and function and its application to diverse areas of research, (b) allow students to sharpen their observation and quantitative microscopy skills, and (c) minimize the preparation time for the instructor

Thes ben Jniures & wronges done vnto your pour seruant: An edition and study of three early sixteenth-century letters of complaint

This thesis is a diplomatic edition and study of three early sixteenth-century letters of complaint. All three letters are addressed to high-ranking officials from ordinary citizens. The edition is based on transcriptions following the principles of the Corpus of Middle English Local Documents (Stenroos, Thengs and Bergstrøm 2017), which will be included in the corpus. This study takes as its starting point the assumption that late medieval letters of complaint show formal and conventional features because of the nature of their purpose, but that these are combined with more individual elements that may reflect traces of the complainant as an individual. Accordingly, the study considers these questions: To what extent do we find orality and personal voices in the letters? To what extent are the letters conventional, and how far do they represent individual compositions? And to what extent do their characteristics help us to further define the distinctions between different types of late medieval letters, in particular that between petition and complaint? In order to address these questions, individual studies of each text are carried out. These employ the episodic structure narrative model (Fludernik 1996) as well as making use of politeness theory (Brown and Levinson 1987) and speech act theory (Searle 1979, Austin 1962). This is a descriptive qualitative study based on a limited material: accordingly, it is not possible to make far-reaching generalizations from its findings. However, each of the texts presents an interesting and complex object of study in its own right, providing plentiful material for both sociolinguistic and pragmatic enquiries. Apart from studying the narrative structure and the politeness strategies used in the letters, the study problematises the categorisation of letter types, in particular with reference to the labels ‘petition’ and ‘letter of complaint.’ This thesis contributes to the field of historical pragmatics, and particularly to research on medieval local documents

India’s Emerging Technology Commercialization Policy: Lessons From The American Model

India, the world’s 4th largest economy (PPP) is riddled with dichotomies. It can be called the IT capital of the world, though 200 million people go without enough food each day. Is India using its scientific and technological prowess for national good? America has had a rich set of experiences in the areas of \u27Technology Commercialization and Licensing\u27. We present recommendations for India’s upcoming legislative deliberations. These are based on India’s current landscape and the success factors in America’s experiences in this arena. We see the following as essential immediate impact points: Policy Harmonization; Steady Budget Increase & Enforcement Institutions

Peer interaction in text chat: Qualitative analysis of chat transcripts

Prior research has shown that intermediate-level adult learners of Russian who worked interactively with partners using text chat improved their vocabulary and oral production skills more than students who worked independently (Tare et al., 2014). Drawing on the dataset from Tare et al. (2014), the current study follows up to explore the nature of the students’ (N = 25) interactions during the text chat activities to determine potential sources of the gains. All 18 activities developed for the study encouraged interaction to complete tasks in pairs. A detailed coding of 169 text chat transcripts examined instances of peer–peer interactions. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses explored whether and to what extent real-time interactive language tasks foster the kinds of language-related moves that may support greater language learning. Results show that students spontaneously engaged in various behaviors which may support language learning, such as providing language-related assistance (self- and peer-correction, negotiation for meaning), using their partner as a resource (for clarifying information, modeling language use, or helping with unknown vocabulary), and providing encouragement (responding positively to the task and to each other, eliciting information from a partner). The most frequent instances were of positive affect, self-correction, and partner correction