Investigating the performance of soft robotic adaptive feet with longitudinal and transverse arches.

Biped robots usually adopt feet with a rigid structure that simplifies walking on flat grounds and yet hinders ground adaptation in unstructured environments, thus jeopardizing stability. We recently explored in the SoftFoot the idea of adapting a robotic foot to ground irregularities along the sagittal plane. Building on the previous results, we propose in this paper a novel robotic foot able to adapt both in the sagittal and frontal planes, similarly to the human foot.

Primary Headache Associated with Sexual Activity: A Review of the Literature.

Purpose Of Review: This review summarizes the evolution in diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of primary headache associated with sexual activity (PHASA).

Recent Findings: Despite increased access to patient information and advances in imaging, the pathophysiology of PHASA remains not fully understood. There are many secondary headaches that may present with headache during sexual activity, and a thorough workup is indicated to rule out potentially life-threatening etiologies.

An Experimental Setup to Test Obstacle-Dealing Capabilities of Prosthetic Feet.

Small obstacles on the ground often lead to a fall when caught with commercial prosthetic feet. Despite some recently developed feet can actively control the ankle angle, for instance over slopes, their flat and rigid sole remains a cause of instability on uneven grounds. Soft robotic feet were recently proposed to tackle that issue; however, they lack consistent experimental validation.

Healthcare utilization impacts of an eConsult program for headache at an academic medical center.

Introduction: Interprofessional consultations ("eConsults") can reduce healthcare utilization. However, the impact of eConsults on healthcare utilization remains poorly characterized among patients with headache.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, 1:1 matched cohort study comparing patients evaluated for headache via eConsult request or in-person referral at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

The Exploration of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Therapies for Migraine.

Purpose Of Review: There is increasing interest in the use of cannabis and cannabinoid therapies (CCT) by the general population and among people with headache disorders, which results in a need for healthcare professionals to be well versed with the efficacy and safety data. In this manuscript, we review cannabis and cannabinoid terminology, the endocannabinoid system and its role in the central nervous system (CNS), the data on efficacy, safety, tolerability, and potential pitfalls associated with use in people with migraine and headache disorders. We also propose possible mechanisms of action in headache disorders and debunk commonly held myths about its use.

MicroRNA analysis of Natural Killer cell-derived exosomes: the microRNA let-7b-5p is enriched in exosomes and participates in their anti-tumor effects against pancreatic cancer cells.

Natural Killer (NK) cells are important components of the immune system in the defense against tumor growth and metastasis. They release exosomes containing proteins and nucleic acids, including microRNAs (miRNAs). NK-derived exosomes play a role in the anti-tumor NK cell function since they are able to recognize and kill cancer cells.

Different effects of NK cells and NK-derived soluble factors on cell lines derived from primary or metastatic pancreatic cancers.

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphoid cells that play a key role in defenses against tumors. However, their function may be severely impaired in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA). Indeed, PA cells release soluble factors, thereby generating an immunosuppressive environment that dysregulates NK-cell cytolytic function and favors tumor immune evasion.

Triptan medication use among patients with migraine with contraindications in the US.

Objective: We sought to investigate the prevalence of triptan use among patients with migraine who have contraindications to triptan usage, and to explore specifics of the medication prescribed, dosage, and route of administration.

Background: Triptan medications are a mainstay of acute migraine therapy, but little is known about prevalence and patterns of triptan prescribing among patients with contraindications in the United States.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we used data from the IBM Marketscan database to identify patients aged ≥ 18 years with migraine from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017, using International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification 10 codes.

Polymorphonuclear Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Are Abundant in Peripheral Blood of Cancer Patients and Suppress Natural Killer Cell Anti-Tumor Activity.

Tumor microenvironment (TME) includes a wide variety of cell types and soluble factors capable of suppressing immune-responses. While the role of NK cells in TME has been analyzed, limited information is available on the presence and the effect of polymorphonuclear (PMN) myeloid-derived suppressor cells, (MDSC). Among the immunomodulatory cells present in TME, MDSC are potentially efficient in counteracting the anti-tumor activity of several effector cells.

Gender Minority Stress, Psychiatric Comorbidities, and the Experience of Migraine in Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals: a Narrative Review.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to discuss the experience of migraine in transgender and gender-diverse individuals as it relates to other psychiatric comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and others. As this population faces stigma and discrimination, literature posits that gender minority stress can also contribute to the experience of pain in these individuals.

Recent Findings: Though there is little explicit data on these topics, more recent studies have explored the concept of gender minority stress and how stigma and discrimination can affect health outcomes and overall perception of health.

A retrospective cohort study of clinical factors, visit patterns, and demographic factors associated with use of remote communications in patients with headache.

Objective: To identify the characteristics associated with high utilization of remote communications (RCs) in patients with headache.

Background: Patients with headache frequently communicate with their providers using secure portal messaging and telephone calls. However, clinical and demographic factors as well as visit patterns associated with RC utilization remain poorly characterized.

MiR-22, a serum predictor of poor outcome and therapy response in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive, heterogeneous neoplasm where prognostication and therapeutic decision are challenging. The available prognostic tools are not able to identify all patients refractory to treatment. MicroRNAs, small RNAs frequently deregulated in cancer, stably circulate in biofluids, representing interesting candidates for non-invasive biomarkers.

The current state of headache medicine education in the United States and Canada: An observational, survey-based study of neurology clerkship directors and curriculum deans.

Objective: To investigate the current headache medicine education paradigm in allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in the United States and Canada.

Background: There is a disparity in the number of clinicians specially trained to treat patients with headache disorders and the number of people who have them. Early education and exposure to headache medicine is crucial to address this disparity.

Diagnostic and prognostic potential of the proteomic profiling of serum-derived extracellular vesicles in prostate cancer.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their cargo represent an intriguing source of cancer biomarkers for developing robust and sensitive molecular tests by liquid biopsy. Prostate cancer (PCa) is still one of the most frequent and deadly tumor in men and analysis of EVs from biological fluids of PCa patients has proven the feasibility and the unprecedented potential of such an approach. Here, we exploited an antibody-based proteomic technology, i.

Interaction Between MDSC and NK Cells in Solid and Hematological Malignancies: Impact on HSCT.

Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are heterogeneous populations that through the release of soluble factors and/or by cell-to-cell interactions suppress both innate and adaptive immune effector cells. In pathological conditions, characterized by the presence of inflammation, a partial block in the differentiation potential of myeloid precursors causes an accumulation of these immunosuppressive cell subsets both in peripheral blood and in tissues. On the contrary, NK cells represent a major player of innate immunity able to counteract tumor growth.

Using a Simple Walking Model to Optimize Transfemoral Prostheses for Prosthetic Limb Stability-A Preliminary Study.

The interaction between the prescribed prosthetic knee and foot is critical to the safety of transfemoral prosthesis users primarily during the stance phase of the gait, when knee buckling can result in a fall. Nonetheless, there is still a need for standardized approaches to quantify the effects of prosthetic component interactions and associated mechanical function on user gait biomechanics. A numerical model was defined to simulate sagittal plane prosthetic limb stance based on a single inverted pendulum and predict effects of prosthetic knee alignment and foot stiffness on knee moment to identify optimal solutions.

Exercise and Migraine Prevention: a Review of the Literature.

Purpose Of Review: This review intends to characterize the recent literature pertaining to the role of aerobic exercise in the prevention of migraine. Areas of consensus within that literature may be used to guide clinical practice, allowing for the promulgation of evidence-based practice recommendations.

Recent Findings: The past decade has seen the publication of numerous high-quality studies that explore aspects of exercise's effects on migraine prevention, including its success as a stand-alone prevention strategy, as well as its non-inferiority to some pharmacologic preventive measures.

Glucocorticoids and the cytokines IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 present in the tumor microenvironment induce PD-1 expression on human natural killer cells.

Background: Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)-immune checkpoint blockade has provided significant clinical efficacy across various types of cancer by unleashing both T and natural killer (NK) cell-mediated antitumor responses. However, resistance to immunotherapy occurs for many patients, rendering the identification of the mechanisms that control PD-1 expression extremely important to increase the response to the therapy.

Objective: We sought to identify the stimuli and the molecular mechanisms that induce the de novo PD-1 expression on human NK cells in the tumor setting.

Characterization of Human NK Cell-Derived Exosomes: Role of DNAM1 Receptor In Exosome-Mediated Cytotoxicity Against Tumor.

Despite the pivotal role of natural killer (NK) cells in defenses against tumors, their exploitation in cancer treatment is still limited due to their reduced ability to reaching tumor sites and the inhibitory effects of tumor microenvironment (TME) on their function. In this study, we have characterized the exosomes from IL2- or IL15-cultured human NK cells. Both cytokines induced comparable amounts of exosomes with similar cargo composition.

Episodic Migraine Comorbidities: Avoiding Pitfalls and Taking Therapeutic Opportunities.

Migraine is a common neurologic disorder. This article will discuss a few factors that influence migraine (mostly episodic) and its treatment, such as sleep, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), obesity, and affective disorders, as well as autoimmune diseases. Practitioners must be aware of these coexisting conditions (comorbidities) as they affect treatment.

MicroRNA as new tools for prostate cancer risk assessment and therapeutic intervention: results from clinical data set and patients' samples.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in men. Despite considerable advances in prostate cancer early detection and clinical management, validation of new biomarkers able to predict the natural history of tumor progression is still necessary in order to reduce overtreatment and to guide therapeutic decisions. MicroRNAs are endogenous noncoding RNAs which offer a fast fine-tuning and energy-saving mechanism for posttranscriptional control of protein expression.