Adaptation Strategies for Personalized Gait Neuroprosthetics

Personalization of gait neuroprosthetics is paramount to ensure their efficacy for users, who experience severe limitations in mobility without an assistive device. Our goal is to develop assistive devices that collaborate with and are tailored to their users, while allowing them to use as much of their existing capabilities as possible. Currently, personalization of devices is challenging, and technological advances are required to achieve this goal. Therefore, this paper presents an overview of challenges and research directions regarding an interface with the peripheral nervous system, an interface with the central nervous system, and the requirements of interface computing architectures. The interface should be modular and adaptable, such that it can provide assistance where it is needed. Novel data processing technology should be developed to allow for real-time processing while accounting for signal variations in the human. Personalized biomechanical models and simulation techniques should be developed to predict assisted walking motions and interactions between the user and the device. Furthermore, the advantages of interfacing with both the brain and the spinal cord or the periphery should be further explored. Technological advances of interface computing architecture should focus on learning on the chip to achieve further personalization. Furthermore, energy consumption should be low to allow for longer use of the neuroprosthesis. In-memory processing combined with resistive random access memory is a promising technology for both. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects to highlight new directions for future research in gait neuroprosthetics.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Instant messaging in enterprises.

This project aims at exploring the security issues of using instant messaging in enterprises, and measures for improving instant messaging security. Instant messaging can have significant social implications, and has potential to become the primary means of workplace communication. It was found that using instant messaging can result in serious security risks, including threats to network security and the loss of confidential information. However, these risks can be mitigated by user policies, educating users, and using secure instant messaging software

Allmerica PB Views implementation project.

The PB Views implementation project involved configuring and implementing a performance-measurement reporting tool for the Risk Management Company at Allmerica Financial. The implementation was spread out across five business units within the company. We used throwaway prototyping to perfect the building process. The finished prototypes were then incorporated into the final production database. The company intends to implement a modified version of this tool within the next six months

Enhanced rates of enzymatic saccharification and catalytic synthesis of biofuel substrates in gelatinized cellulose generated by trifluoroacetic acid

Abstract Background The crystallinity of cellulose is a principal factor limiting the efficient hydrolysis of biomass to fermentable sugars or direct catalytic conversion to biofuel components. We evaluated the impact of TFA-induced gelatinization of crystalline cellulose on enhancement of enzymatic digestion and catalytic conversion to biofuel substrates. Results Low-temperature swelling of cotton linter cellulose in TFA at subzero temperatures followed by gentle heating to 55 °C dissolves the microfibril structure and forms composites of crystalline and amorphous gels upon addition of ethanol. The extent of gelatinization of crystalline cellulose was determined by reduction of birefringence in darkfield microscopy, loss of X-ray diffractability, and loss of resistance to acid hydrolysis. Upon freeze-drying, an additional degree of crystallinity returned as mostly cellulose II. Both enzymatic digestion with a commercial cellulase cocktail and maleic acid/AlCl3-catalyzed conversion to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic acid were markedly enhanced with the low-temperature swollen cellulose. Only small improvements in rates and extent of hydrolysis and catalytic conversion were achieved upon heating to fully dissolve cellulose. Conclusions Low-temperature swelling of cellulose in TFA substantially reduces recalcitrance of crystalline cellulose to both enzymatic digestion and catalytic conversion. In a closed system to prevent loss of fluorohydrocarbons, the relative ease of recovery and regeneration of TFA by distillation makes it a potentially useful agent in large-scale deconstruction of biomass, not only for enzymatic depolymerization but also for enhancing rates of catalytic conversion to biofuel components and useful bio-products