Publications by authors named "Manuel Hernandez"

Background: There is limited research comparing both performance and brain control of walking between older adults with progressive and relapsing-remitting MS.

Objective: This study compared older adults with progressive and relapsing-remitting MS for differences in prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation in single- and dual-task-walking and practice-related effects on neural efficiency, walking, and cognitive performances.

Methods: Older adults with progressive (n = 32, age=65±6ys) and relapsing-remitting (n = 63, age=65±4ys) MS completed three conditions (single-task walk, single-task-alpha, i.

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The in utero environment is key to both fetal and postnatal growth and development. The objective of this study was to determine if administration of an acute low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to gestating sows during mid to late gestation and postweaning would alter the offsprings metabolomic profile of the longissimus dorsi (LD) and muscle ultrastructure. Pregnant Camborough sows were randomly assigned to receive LPS (LPS; n = 7) at a dose of 2.

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Research has not demonstrated whether multiple cups of negative pressure cupping therapy would induce interactions of hemodynamic responses between different areas. A multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to assess oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin oscillations in response to cupping therapy. Wavelet transform and wavelet phase (WPC) coherence were used to quantify NIRS signals.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Sport biomechanics focuses on analyzing the mechanics of movement in order to enhance athletic performance and minimize the risk of injuries during sports and exercise.
  • - It applies principles of physics to understand how athletes can move more efficiently and effectively, benefiting both able-bodied individuals and those with disabilities.
  • - By studying body movements and forces, sport biomechanics aims to create strategies and techniques that lead to better training practices and safer sports participation.
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Tai Chi (TC) practice has been shown to improve both cognitive and physical function in older adults. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the benefits of TC remain unclear. Our primary aims are to explore whether distinct age-related and TC-practice-related relationships can be identified with respect to either temporal or spatial (within/between-network connectivity) differences.

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Objective: We examined whether brain hemodynamic responses, gait, and cognitive performances under single- and dual-task conditions predict falls during longitudinal follow-up in older adults with multiple sclerosis (OAMS) with relapsing-remitting and progressive subtypes.

Methods: Participants with relapsing-remitting ( = 53, mean age = 65.02 ± 4.

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Introduction: Perturbation walking (PW) has been shown to improve gait, however its effect on the cortical control of gait might provide insights on neural mechanisms underlying falls in adults with osteoarthritis. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of PW on prefrontal cortical (PFC) activation in older women with (OA) and without osteoarthritis (HOA). We hypothesized that there would be an increase in PFC activation during PW relative to comfortable walking (CW) and higher increase in PFC activation during PW in HOA compared to OA.

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Background: Mobility and cognitive impairment are prevalent and co-occurring in older adults with multiple sclerosis (OAMS), yet there is limited research concerning the role of disability status in the cognitive control of gait among OAMS.

Objective: We investigated the levels of prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation, using oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO), during cognitively-demanding tasks in OAMS with lower and higher disability using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to: (1) identify PFC activation differences in single task walk and cognitively-demanding tasks in OAMS with different levels of disability; and (2) evaluate if disability may moderate practice-related changes in neural efficiency in OAMS.

Methods: We gathered data from OAMS with lower (n = 51, age = 65 ± 4 years) or higher disability (n = 48, age = 65 ± 5 years), using a cutoff of 3 or more, in the Patient Determined Disease Steps, for higher disability, under 3 different conditions (single-task walk, Single-Task-Alpha, and Dual-Task-Walk [DTW]) administered over 3 counterbalanced, repeated trials.

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Isometric exercise is a non-pharmacologic intervention to improve muscle hemodynamic responses and blood pressure in humans. However, the effects of intensity, duration, and muscle mass factors of isometric exercise on local muscle hemodynamic responses and systemic blood pressure regulation have not been studied. The purpose of this study was to assess whether various modes of isometric exercise could induce various levels of muscle hemodynamic responses that are related to the blood pressure changes.

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Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that provides an adaptive and accessible exercise for older adults with varying functional capacity. While Tai Chi is widely recommended for its physical benefits, wider adoption in at-home practice presents challenges for practitioners, as limited feedback may hamper learning. This study examined the feasibility of using a wearable sensor, combined with machine learning (ML) approaches, to automatically and objectively classify Tai Chi expertise.

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  • - This pilot study evaluated a 12-week virtual Pilates program for individuals with mild to severe multiple sclerosis (MS), comparing a Pilates-only group to one that included additional exercises targeting hip and shoulder-cuff activation.
  • - While 22 people started the study and 16 completed it, the analysis showed overall improvements in walking speed (36%), mobility (13%), and balance (10%), though no significant differences were found between the two exercise groups.
  • - Participants expressed high satisfaction with the program, indicating that virtual, seated Pilates may be a feasible option that could improve balance for individuals with MS.
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  • Bridging exercises are frequently used to help people with low back pain (LBP), but the impact of different contraction modes (isometric vs. dynamic) on low back muscle oxygenation has not been studied.
  • Using near-infrared spectroscopy, researchers measured the hemodynamic responses in the erector spinae muscles of 16 healthy participants during both types of bridging exercises.
  • The findings revealed that dynamic bridging exercises significantly improved muscle oxygenation compared to isometric exercises, indicating that dynamic exercises may be more beneficial for low back muscle health.
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Detection and enumeration of coliform bacteria using traditional methods and current molecular techniques against usually involve long processes with less sensitivity and specificity to distinguish between viable and non-viable bacteria for microbiological water analysis. This approach involves developing and validating an immunosensor comprising ring resonators functionalized with specific antibodies surrounded by a network of microchannels as an alternative method for detecting and indirectly enumerating in samples of water for consumption. Different ELISA assays were conducted to characterize monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies selected as detection probes for specific B-galactosidase enzymes and membrane LPS antigens of .

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The globalization of markets has diversified the food supply, but it has also made the distribution chain more difficult, increasing the risk of microbial contamination. One strategy to obtain safer food and extend its shelf life is to develop active packaging with antimicrobial properties that prevent the growth of pathogenic microorganisms or spoilage in food products. In this context, and in line with the growing social awareness about the environmental impact generated by plastic waste, this work evaluated the effectiveness of polylactic acid (PLA) films loaded with different concentrations of copper (II) hydroxynitrate nanoparticles (CuHS) against the microbiota of fresh foods (chicken, fish and cheese).

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Background/objective: Falls research in older adults with MS (OAMS) is scarce, and no studies have reported on the association between life-space mobility and falls in this group. Herein, we hypothesized that higher baseline life-space scores would be associated with reduced odds of reporting falls during follow-up, and explored whether the association differed by MS subtype (progressive vs. relapsing-remitting).

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Cupping therapy is a popular intervention for improving muscle recovery after exercise although clinical evidence is weak. Previous studies demonstrated that cupping therapy may improve microcirculation of the soft tissue to accelerate tissue healing. However, it is unclear whether the cupping size could affect the spatial hemodynamic response of the treated muscle.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess nitric oxide modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) as a new alternative for preserving the color of ground beef compared to high oxygen (HI-OX) and carbon monoxide (CO) packaging.
  • Throughout a 120-hour display period, various color metrics, myoglobin percentages, and chemical stability indicators were measured to determine the effects of each packaging type.
  • While carbon monoxide showed the best results in maintaining redness and reducing discoloration, nitric oxide demonstrated a distinct color change cycle that suggests potential for future optimization, despite its performance being lower than CO.
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Among pollution remediation technologies, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are genuinely efficient since they are based on the production of strong, non-selective oxidants, mainly hydroxyl radicals (·OH), by a set of physicochemical methods. The biological counterparts of AOPs, which may be referred to as advanced bio-oxidation processes (ABOPs), have begun to be investigated since the mechanisms of induction of ·OH production in fungi are known. To contribute to the development of ABOPs, advanced oxidation of a wide number of dyes by the white-rot fungus , via a quinone redox cycling (QRC) process based on Fenton's reagent formation, has been described for the first time.

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Background: Older adults with multiple sclerosis (OAMS) have declines in walking and physical performance that may erode community mobility defined as the spatial extent of mobility in one's daily life and environment.

Objective: This study provided the first application and validation of the University of Alabama Birmingham Study of Aging Life-Space Assessment (UAB LSA) as a measure of community mobility in OAMS.

Methods: The sample included 97 OAMS and 108 healthy controls (HCs) who completed baseline assessments as part of an ongoing, longitudinal study.

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Objective and quantitative monitoring of movement impairments is crucial for detecting progression in neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD). This study examined the ability of deep learning approaches to grade motor impairment severity in a modified version of the Movement Disorders Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) using low-cost wearable sensors. A convolutional neural network architecture, XceptionTime, was used to classify lower and higher levels of motor impairment in persons with PD, across five distinct rhythmic tasks: finger tapping, hand movements, pronation-supination movements of the hands, toe tapping, and leg agility.

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Falls are one of the leading factors of injury and fatality in older adults. Given the importance of early detection of adults at higher risk of falls, we evaluated the ability of machine learning to classify fall risk in adults across the lifespan using wearable sensors embedded in a smartshirt. We evaluated the classification performance of binary and multiclass fall risk classifier models using SciKit Digital Health in adults across the lifespan.

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Wearable sensors provide a tool for at-home monitoring of motor impairment progression in neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD). This study examined the ability of deep learning approaches to grade the motor impairment severity in a modified version of the Movement Disorders Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) using low-cost wearable sensors. We hypothesized that expanding training datasets with motion data from healthy older adults (HOAs) and initializing classifiers with weights learned from unsupervised pre-training would lead to an improvement in performance when classifying lower vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disorder that affects mobility, and this study evaluated a deep learning framework called DeepMS2G to differentiate gait patterns between people with MS and healthy individuals.
  • Researchers collected gait data from 20 healthy controls and 20 people with MS using an instrumented treadmill, employing various machine learning techniques to analyze movement patterns.
  • The results showed that residual neural network models, particularly with regression-based normalization, achieved high accuracy in classifying gait during different walking tasks and across various subjects.
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Cupping therapy is a common intervention for the management of musculoskeletal impairment. Previous studies have demonstrated that cupping therapy can improve muscle hemodynamic responses using single-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). However, the effects of cupping therapy on spatial hemodynamic responses as well as the correlation between oxyhemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin are largely unknown.

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