Effect of Instruction on EMG Activity of the Rectus Abdominis during a Crunch on a Swiss Exercise Ball

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the benefit of instruction from a physical therapist in participant performance of an abdominal crunch on a Swiss ball, determined through electromyography (EMG) of the rectus abdominis. Subjects: Our subjects included male (n=15) and female (n=15) college students between the ages of 18-50 years old. Exclusion criteria included a history of low back pain, prior spine surgery, pregnancy, previous formal instruction of crunches on a Swiss ball, and an allergic reaction to rubbing alcohol. Instrumentation: EMG biofeedback was used to test rectus abdominis muscle activity. This activity was transmitted by a Noraxon Telemy08 telemetry unit (Noraxan USA, 13430 North Scottsdale Rd., AZ 85254). Data was collected by the Noraxon Telemy08 receiver. The peak Notus5 system (Peak Performance, Englewood, CO) was used to store and analyze the EMG data. Procedure: Participants performed a manual muscle test of the rectus abdominis muscle and the EMG activity was recorded and used for base line data. The subjects were then asked to perform 10 abdominal crunches on the ball without any instruction. This data was recorded, and then verbal instruction on proper technique of an abdominal crunch on the ball was given. Following instruction, participants had one minute to rest, and then perform an additional 10 crunches using the new correct posture. Data Analysis: For statistical analysis, a repeated-measures t-test was used with an alpha level of .05. Results: There was no significant difference when comparing the mean values of EMG muscle activity of the upper rectus abdominis pre and post instruction and lower rectus abdominis pre and post instruction. (78.05 and 76.14 --70.50 and 69.73 respectively) Conclusions and Clinical Implications: In conclusion our study results did not support a significant difference in rectus abdominis muscle activity after instruction measured through EMG analysis. Injury due to over training, muscle imbalances or muscle strains could be avoided when patients are given instructions and demonstrate proper technique

Investigating the effects of Transforming Laboratory Learning

KEYWORDS: inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, industry engagement, undergraduate, chemistry Background At Monash University, a program called Transforming Laboratory Learning (TLL) is being undertaken over the next 3 years which seeks to alter the undergraduate chemistry practical experience to incorporate more inquiry-based learning and to increase the industrial context of the program. Aims The aim of this project is to monitor the effects of the above undertaking on the student cohort, as well as the teaching staff at Monash University. Design and methods In order to investigate the effect of TLL, surveys will be given to all undergraduate students, teaching associates, other teaching staff and academics at Monash University. This survey will be a combination of an in-house tested open question (to monitor the potentially shifting beliefs of laboratory aims) and a literature validated tool known as the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI, which tests for student learning during a practical experience). Furthermore, focus groups (of students and teaching associates) as well as one-to-one interviews with academics will be undertaken to obtain a more in-depth measure of the effects of TLL. Results To date, preliminary data of one chemistry course has shown that students predominately (>70% response) believe the point of the laboratory exercises is to reinforce lecture material with only a small cohort

Role of particle size and surface functionalisation on the flexibility behaviour of switchable metal-organic framework DUT-8(Ni)

Flexible MOF nanoparticles, i.e. MOF nanoparticles that change their structure upon external stimuli such as guest uptake, are promising for numerous applications including advanced gas adsorption, drug delivery and sensory devices. However, the properties of MOFs are typically characterised based on the bulk material with no consideration of how the particle size and external surface influences their performance. This combined computational and experimental contribution investigates the influence of the particle size and surface functionalisation on the flexibility of DUT-8(Ni) (Ni2 (2,6-ndc)2 dabco, ndc = naphthalene dicarboxylate, dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, DUT=Dresden University of Technology). DUT-8 nanoparticles remain rigid in their open pore form while microparticles, synthesised under slightly different conditions, undergo gate opening upon nitrogen adsorption suggesting that the particle size has an important role to play in the flexibility of DUT-8. While the adsorption environment at the surface capped with modulators smaller than the 2,6-ndc ligand is very different compared to the bulk of the crystal with considerably weaker guest-framework interaction, simulations reveal that the nanoparticles should close. We conclude that the size of the nanoparticles is not the major contributor for keeping DUT-8 nanoparticles open but that it is more likely that defects or nucleation barriers dominate. Moreover, our work reveals for the first time that functionalising the external surface of nanoparticles with different modulators or capping groups offers the opportunity to manipulate the gate opening / closing pressure. This principle is generally applicable and could be exploited to tune the gate openig / closing pressure for the application of interest

Genotype-specific lesion growth rates in stargardt disease

Reported growth rates (GR) of atrophic lesions in Stargardt disease (STGD1) vary widely. In the present study, we report the longitudinal natural history of patients with confirmed bial-lelic ABCA4 mutations from five genotype groups: c.6079C \u3e T, c.[2588G \u3e C;5603A \u3e T], c.3113C \u3e T, c.5882G \u3e A and c.5603A \u3e T. Fundus autofluorescence (AF) 30◦ × 30◦ images were manually seg-mented for boundaries of definitely decreased autofluorescence (DDAF). The primary outcome was the effective radius GR across five genotype groups. The age of DDAF formation in each eye was calculated using the x-intercept of the DDAF effective radius against age. Discordance between age at DDAF formation and symptom onset was compared. A total of 75 eyes from 39 STGD1 patients (17 male [44%]; mean ± SD age 45 ± 19 years; range 21–86) were recruited. Patients with c.3113C \u3e T or c.6079C \u3e T had a significantly faster effective radius GR at 0.17 mm/year (95% CI 0.12 to 0.22; p \u3c 0.001 and 0.14 to 0.21; p \u3c 0.001) respectively, as compared to those patients harbouring c.5882G \u3e A at 0.06 mm/year (95% CI 0.03–0.09), respectively. Future clinical trial design should consider the effect of genotype on the effective radius GR and the timing of DDAF formation relative to symptom onset

Driving with retinitis pigmentosa

Background: To establish the proportion of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) meeting the Australian fitness to drive (FTD) visual standards. Methodology: A prospective consecutive case series of patients with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of RP. Data on age at symptom onset, current driving status, inheritance pattern, better eye visual acuity (BEVA), binocular Esterman visual field (BEVF) parameters, genotype and ability to meet the driving standards based on BEVA and BEVF were collected. Outcome measures included the proportion of RP patients overall meeting the standards and clinical predictors for passing. A sub-analysis was performed on those RP patients who reported to drive. Change in BEVA and BEVF parameters across age in specific genotype groups was assessed. Results: Overall, 228 patients with RP had a BEVF assessment. Only 39% (89/228) met the driving standards. Younger age at the time of testing was the only significant predictor (p \u3c 0.01) for passing. Of the 55% of RP patients who reported to drive, 52% (65/125) met the standards, decreasing to 14% in the 56- to 65-year-old age group. RP patients harbouring mutations in HK1 or RHO genes may have slower rates of decline in their VF parameters. Conclusion: Nearly 40% of RP patients met the driving standards. However, almost 50% of RP drivers were unaware of their failure to meet the current standards. BEVF testing is essential in the assessment of RP patients who are still driving. Phenotype and genotype predictors for passing the standards warrant further investigation. Abbreviation: FTD, fitness to drive; IRD, inherited retinal disease; RP, retinitis pigmentosa; RHO, rhodopsin; HK1, hexokinase 1; PRPF31 pre-mRNA processing factor 31; RPGR, retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator; VF, visual field; BEVA, better eye visual acuity; BEVF, binocular Esterman visual field

Synergistic drug combinations from electronic health records and gene expression.

ObjectiveUsing electronic health records (EHRs) and biomolecular data, we sought to discover drug pairs with synergistic repurposing potential. EHRs provide real-world treatment and outcome patterns, while complementary biomolecular data, including disease-specific gene expression and drug-protein interactions, provide mechanistic understanding.MethodWe applied Group Lasso INTERaction NETwork (glinternet), an overlap group lasso penalty on a logistic regression model, with pairwise interactions to identify variables and interacting drug pairs associated with reduced 5-year mortality using EHRs of 9945 breast cancer patients. We identified differentially expressed genes from 14 case-control human breast cancer gene expression datasets and integrated them with drug-protein networks. Drugs in the network were scored according to their association with breast cancer individually or in pairs. Lastly, we determined whether synergistic drug pairs found in the EHRs were enriched among synergistic drug pairs from gene-expression data using a method similar to gene set enrichment analysis.ResultsFrom EHRs, we discovered 3 drug-class pairs associated with lower mortality: anti-inflammatories and hormone antagonists, anti-inflammatories and lipid modifiers, and lipid modifiers and obstructive airway drugs. The first 2 pairs were also enriched among pairs discovered using gene expression data and are supported by molecular interactions in drug-protein networks and preclinical and epidemiologic evidence.ConclusionsThis is a proof-of-concept study demonstrating that a combination of complementary data sources, such as EHRs and gene expression, can corroborate discoveries and provide mechanistic insight into drug synergism for repurposing

Analysis of the outer retinal bands in ABCA4 and PRPH2-associated retinopathy using OCT

Purpose: To evaluate the outer retinal bands using OCT in ABCA4- and PRPH2-associated retinopathy and develop a novel imaging biomarker to differentiate between these 2 genotypes. Design: Multicenter case-control study. Participants: Patients with a clinical and genetic diagnosis of ABCA4- or PRPH2-associated retinopathy and an age-matched control group. Methods: Macular OCT was used to measure the thickness of the outer retinal bands 2 and 4 by 2 independent examiners at 4 retinal loci. Main Outcome Measures: Outcome measures included the thicknesses of band 2, band 4, and the band 2/band 4 ratio. Linear mixed modeling was used to make comparisons across the 3 groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis determined the optimal cutoff for the band 2/band 4 ratio to distinguish PRPH2- from ABCA4-associated retinopathy. Results: We included 45 patients with ABCA4 variants, 45 patients with PRPH2 variants, and 45 healthy controls. Band 2 was significantly thicker in patients with PRPH2 compared with ABCA4 (21.4 vs. 15.9 m, P \u3c 0.001) variants, whereas band 4 was thicker in patients with ABCA4 variants than those with PRPH2 variants (27.5 vs. 21.7 m, P \u3c 0.001). Similarly, the band 2/band 4 ratio was significantly different (1.0 vs. 0.6 for PRPH2 vs. ABCA4, P \u3c 0.001). The area under the ROC curve was 0.87 for either band 2 ( \u3e 18.58 m) or band 4 ( \u3c 26.17 μm) alone and 0.99 (95% confidence interval: 0.97–0.99) for the band 2/band 4 ratio with a cutoff threshold of 0.79, providing 100% specificity. Conclusions: We report an altered outer retinal band profile whereby the band 2/band 4 ratio was able to discriminate between PRPH2- and ABCA4-associated retinopathy. This may have future clinic utility in predicting the genotype and provide further insight into the anatomic correlate of band 2. Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article

Sibling concordance in symptom onset and atrophy growth rates in Stargardt disease using ultra-widefield fundus autofluorescence

Purpose: To investigate concordance in symptom onset, area of dark autofluorescence (DAF), and growth rate (GR) between Stargardt disease siblings at an age-matched time point. Methods: In this retrospective longitudinal study of sibling pairs with identical biallelic ABCA4 variants, age at symptom onset, best-corrected visual acuity, atrophy area, and effective radius of DAF on ultra-widefield fundus autofluorescence were recorded. Absolute intersibling differences for both eyes were compared with absolute interocular differences using the Mann-Whitney test. Results: Overall 39 patients from 19 families were recruited. In 16 families, age-matched best-corrected visual acuity and DAF were compared between siblings. In 8 families, DAF GR was compared. The median (range) absolute difference in age at symptom onset between siblings was 3 (0-35) years. Absolute intersibling differences in age-matched best-corrected visual acuity were greater than interocular differences (P = 0.01). Similarly, absolute intersibling differences in DAF area and radius were greater than interocular differences (P = 0.04 for area and P = 0.001 for radius). Differences between absolute interocular and intersibling GR were not statistically significant (P = 0.44 for area GR and P = 0.61 for radius GR). Conclusion: There was significant discordance in age-matched best-corrected visual acuity and DAF beyond the expected limits of interocular asymmetry. Lack of significant intersibling differences in GR warrants further investigation