Work Disability Prevention and Management.

Objective: This abbreviated version of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's (ACOEM) Work Disability Prevention and Management Guideline reviews the available evidence and provides recommendations to clinicians regarding interventions to help patients remain at or return to work.Methods: Systematic literature reviews were conducted. Studies were graded and evidence tables were created, with involvement of a multidisciplinary expert panel that evaluated the evidence and finalized recommendations for all clinical questions.

Thrombopoietic agents enhance bone healing in mice, rats, and pigs.

Achieving bone union remains a significant clinical dilemma. The use of osteoinductive agents, specifically bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), has gained wide attention. However, multiple side effects, including increased incidence of cancer, have renewed interest in investigating alternatives that provide safer, yet effective bone regeneration.

Predicting the Hallucinogenic Potential of Molecules Using Artificial Intelligence.

The development of new drugs addressing serious mental health and other disorders should avoid the psychedelic experience. Analogs of psychedelic drugs can have clinical utility and are termed "psychoplastogens". These represent promising candidates for treating opioid use disorder to reduce drug dependence, with rarely reported serious adverse effects.

Near-Term Quantum Classification Algorithms Applied to Antimalarial Drug Discovery.

Computational approaches are widely applied in drug discovery to explore properties related to bioactivity, physiochemistry, and toxicology. Over at least the last 20 years, the exploitation of machine learning on molecular data sets has been used to understand the structure-activity relationships that exist between biomolecules and druggable targets. More recently, these methods have also seen application for phenotypic screening data for neglected diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.

Mitigation and use of biofilms in space for the benefit of human space exploration.

Biofilms are self-organized communities of microorganisms that are encased in an extracellular polymeric matrix and often found attached to surfaces. Biofilms are widely present on Earth, often found in diverse and sometimes extreme environments. These microbial communities have been described as recalcitrant or protective when facing adversity and environmental exposures.

A miniaturized optoelectronic biosensor for real-time point-of-care total protein analysis.

A miniaturized optoelectronic sensor is demonstrated that measures total protein concentration in serum and urine with sensitivity and accuracy comparable to gold-standard methods. The sensor is comprised of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), photodetector and other custom optical components and electronics that can be hybrid packaged into a portable, handheld form factor. In conjunction, a custom fluorescence assay has been developed based on the protein-induced fluorescence enhancement (PIFE) phenomenon, enabling real-time sensor response to changes in protein concentration.

Invasive Treatments for Low Back Disorders.

Objective: This abbreviated version of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's Low Back Disorders guideline reviews the evidence and recommendations developed for invasive treatments used to manage low back disorders.

Methods: Comprehensive systematic literature reviews were accomplished with article abstraction, critiquing, grading, evidence table compilation, and guideline finalization by a multidisciplinary expert panel and extensive peer-review to develop evidence-based guidance. Consensus recommendations were formulated when evidence was lacking and often relied on analogy to other disorders for which evidence exists.

Real-time point-of-care total protein measurement with a miniaturized optoelectronic biosensor and fast fluorescence-based assay.

Measurement of total protein in urine is key to monitoring kidney health in diabetes. However, most total protein assays are performed using large, expensive laboratory chemistry analyzers that are not amenable to point-of-care analysis or home monitoring and cannot provide real-time readouts. We developed a miniaturized optoelectronic biosensor using a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), coupled with a fast protein assay based on protein-induced fluorescence enhancement (PIFE), that can dynamically measure protein concentrations in protein-spiked buffer, serum, and urine in seconds with excellent sensitivity (urine LOD = 0.

Vertical-junction photodiodes for smaller pixels in retinal prostheses.

To restore central vision in patients with atrophic age-related macular degeneration, we replace the lost photoreceptors with photovoltaic pixels, which convert light into current and stimulate the secondary retinal neurons. Clinical trials demonstrated prosthetic acuity closely matching the sampling limit of the 100m pixels, and hence smaller pixels are required for improving visual acuity. However, with smaller flat bipolar pixels, the electric field penetration depth and the photodiode responsivity significantly decrease, making the device inefficient.

The Species-Specific Acquisition and Diversification of a K1-like Family of Killer Toxins in Budding Yeasts of the Saccharomycotina.

Killer toxins are extracellular antifungal proteins that are produced by a wide variety of fungi, including Saccharomyces yeasts. Although many Saccharomyces killer toxins have been previously identified, their evolutionary origins remain uncertain given that many of these genes have been mobilized by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses. A survey of yeasts from the Saccharomyces genus has identified a novel killer toxin with a unique spectrum of activity produced by Saccharomyces paradoxus.

Processing and Sectioning Undecalcified Murine Bone Specimens.

Preparation of mineralized tissue specimens for bone-specific staining encompasses a critical sequence of histological techniques that provides visualization of tissue and cellular morphology. Bone specimens are fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF), dehydrated in graded ethanol (EtOH) solutions (and optionally cleared in xylene), infiltrated and embedded in polymethyl methacrylate (methyl methacrylate or MMA), classically sliced into 4-10 micrometer (μm) sections, and stained with bone-specific histological stains such as von Kossa (with either nuclear fast red solution counterstain or MacNeal's tetrachrome counterstain), modified Goldner's trichrome, Alizarin Red S, Safranin O, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) stain. Here, we describe the tissue processing of mineralized mouse bones from dissection to staining for histological analysis by light microscopy.

Low-loss GaO-core/SiO-cladding planar waveguides on Si substrate.

The unique properties of gallium oxide (GaO) have drawn increasing interest as a material suitable for high-power electronic and optical applications. Herein, we report the demonstration of low-loss GaO-core/SiO-cladding waveguides on Si substrate. We present the fabrication process and annealing treatments of the waveguide devices, and we characterize the corresponding effects on optical transmission for 3 common wavelengths: 633 nm, 1064 nm, and 1550 nm.

Non-Invasive and Minimally Invasive Management of Low Back Disorders.

Objective: This abbreviated version of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's (ACOEM) Low Back Disorders Guideline reviews the evidence and recommendations developed for non-invasive and minimally invasive management of low back disorders.

Methods: Systematic literature reviews were accomplished with article abstraction, critiquing, grading, evidence table compilation, and guideline finalization by a multidisciplinary expert panel and extensive peer-review to develop evidence-based guidance. Consensus recommendations were formulated when evidence was lacking.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Interstrain Dynamics and Selection of Hyperbiofilm Mutants during a Chronic Infection.

Opportunistic pathogens establishing new infections experience strong selection to adapt, often favoring mutants that persist. Capturing this initial dynamic is critical for identifying the first adaptations that drive pathogenesis. Here we used a porcine full-thickness burn wound model of chronic infection to study the evolutionary dynamics of diverse infections.

The effects of spaceflight and fracture healing on distant skeletal sites.

Spaceflight results in reduced mechanical loading of the skeleton, which leads to dramatic bone loss. Low bone mass is associated with increased fracture risk, and this combination may compromise future, long-term, spaceflight missions. Here, we examined the systemic effects of spaceflight and fracture surgery/healing on several non-injured bones within the axial and appendicular skeleton.

Improving characterization capabilities in new single-photon avalanche diode research.

Many novel and promising single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) emerged in recent years. However, some of them may demonstrate a very high dark count rate, even tens of megahertz, especially during the development phase or at room temperature, posing new challenges to device characterization. Gating operation with a width of 10 ns can be used to suppress the dark counts not coincident with the photon arriving time.

Silicon nitride waveguide as a power delivery component for on-chip dielectric laser accelerators.

We study the weakly guided silicon nitride waveguide as an on-chip power delivery solution for dielectric laser accelerators (DLAs). We focus on the two main limiting factors on the waveguide network for DLAs: the optical damage and nonlinear characteristics. The typical delivered fluence at the onset of optical damage is measured to be ∼0.

Design of a tapered slot waveguide dielectric laser accelerator for sub-relativistic electrons.

We propose a dielectric laser accelerator design based on a tapered slot waveguide structure for sub-relativistic electron acceleration. This tapering scheme allows for straightforward tuning of the phase velocity of the accelerating field along the propagation direction, which is necessary for maintaining synchronization with electrons as their velocities increase. Furthermore, the non-resonant nature of this design allows for better tolerance to experimental errors.

Phase-dependent laser acceleration of electrons with symmetrically driven silicon dual pillar gratings.

We present the demonstration of phase-dependent laser acceleration and deflection of electrons using a symmetrically driven silicon dual pillar grating structure. We show that exciting an evanescent inverse Smith-Purcell mode on each side of a dual pillar grating can produce hyperbolic cosine acceleration and hyperbolic sine deflection modes, depending on the relative excitation phase of each side. Our devices accelerate sub-relativistic 99.

Cohousing Male Mice with and without Segmental Bone Defects.

Spaceflight results in bone loss like that associated with osteoporosis or decreased weight-bearing (for example, high-energy trauma such as explosive injuries and automobile accidents). Thus, the unique spaceflight laboratory on the International Space Station presents the opportunity to test bone healing agents during weightlessness. We are collaborating with NASA and the US Army to study bone healing in spaceflight.

Obesity in the Workplace: Impact, Outcomes, and Recommendations.

Objective: To conduct a comprehensive literature review to develop recommendations for managing obesity among workers to improve health outcomes and to explore the impact of obesity on health costs to determine whether a case can be made for surgical interventions and insurance coverage.

Methods: We searched PubMed from 2011 to 2016, and CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane Registry of Clinical Trials for interventions addressing obesity in the workplace.

Results: A total of 1419 articles were screened, resulting in 275 articles being included.

Acceleration of sub-relativistic electrons with an evanescent optical wave at a planar interface.

We report on a theoretical and experimental study of the energy transfer between an optical evanescent wave, propagating in vacuum along the planar boundary of a dielectric material, and a beam of sub-relativistic electrons. The evanescent wave is excited via total internal reflection in the dielectric by an infrared (λ = 2 μm) femtosecond laser pulse. By matching the electron propagation velocity to the phase velocity of the evanescent wave, energy modulation of the electron beam is achieved.