Heart rate and salivary cortisol as indicators of arousal and synchrony in clients, therapy horses and therapist in equine-assisted therapy.

Background: This exploratory study aimed to analyse physiological interaction processes in equine-assisted-therapy (EAT) between client, therapy horse and therapist.

Methods: We measured heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol levels before, during and after a standardized therapy session and a control condition in one therapist, four therapy horses and ten female clients in emerging adulthood (Mn = 21.8 years, SD = 3.

Myoelectric pattern recognition with virtual reality and serious gaming improves upper limb function in chronic stroke: a single case experimental design study.

Background: Myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR) combines multiple surface electromyography channels with a machine learning algorithm to decode motor intention with an aim to enhance upper limb function after stroke. This study aims to determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a novel intervention combining MPR, virtual reality (VR), and serious gaming to improve upper limb function in people with chronic stroke.

Methods: In this single case experimental A-B-A design study, six individuals with chronic stroke and moderate to severe upper limb impairment completed 18, 2 h sessions, 3 times a week.

Horses' Cardiovascular and Glucocorticoid Responses to Equine-Assisted Therapy with Women with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study.

Research on equine-assisted therapy (EAT) has primarily been centered on human health. Relatively few studies have addressed the impact of EAT on horses. This study sought to monitor four experienced therapy horses' cardiovascular and glucocorticoid activity over the course of standardized EAT sessions designed to support women with intellectual disability.

Apolipoprotein-CIII O-Glycosylation Is Associated with Micro- and Macrovascular Complications of Type 2 Diabetes.

Apolipoprotein-CIII (apo-CIII) inhibits the clearance of triglycerides from circulation and is associated with an increased risk of diabetes complications. It exists in four main proteoforms: O-glycosylated variants containing either zero, one, or two sialic acids and a non-glycosylated variant. O-glycosylation may affect the metabolic functions of apo-CIII.

Apolipoprotein-CIII -Glycosylation, a Link between and Plasma Lipids.

Apolipoprotein-CIII (apo-CIII) is involved in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism and linked to beta-cell damage, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease. Apo-CIII exists in four main proteoforms: non-glycosylated (apo-CIII), and glycosylated apo-CIII with zero, one, or two sialic acids (apo-CIII, apo-CIII and apo-CIII). Our objective is to determine how apo-CIII glycosylation affects lipid traits and type 2 diabetes prevalence, and to investigate the genetic basis of these relations with a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on apo-CIII glycosylation.

Adherence to guideline recommendations for Barrett's esophagus (BE) surveillance endoscopies: Effects of dedicated BE endoscopy lists.

For non-dysplastic Barrett's Esophagus (BE) patients, guidelines recommend endoscopic surveillance every 3 to 5 years with four-quadrant random biopsies every 2 cm of BE length. Adherence to these guidelines is low in clinical practice. Pooling BE surveillance endoscopies on dedicated endoscopy lists performed by dedicated endoscopists could possibly enhance guideline adherence, detection of visible lesions, and dysplasia detection rates (DDRs).

Health Prevention Interventions for Adults in the Community: A Scoping Review of Intervention Characteristics.

This scoping review was designed to determine which adults receive preventative health interventions, the types of interventions for modifiable risk factors, the health professionals, including occupational therapy practitioners providing these interventions, and where they are delivered to adults in the community. The databases searched were PubMed, Ageline, and CINAHL and included research meeting the inclusion criteria and published between 2016-2021. All included studies addressed health prevention.

Exploring the Impact of Occupational Adaptation-Focused Interventions on Music Student Health.

Music students are at an elevated risk of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders. This study aimed to explore the impact of occupational adaptation-focused interventions on music student health. A quasi-experimental one-group pretest/posttest design was used.

Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation Using Surface Electromyography: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Upper limb impairment is common after stroke, and many will not regain full upper limb function. Different technologies based on surface electromyography (sEMG) have been used in stroke rehabilitation, but there is no collated evidence on the different sEMG-driven interventions and their effect on upper limb function in people with stroke.

Aim: Synthesize existing evidence and perform a meta-analysis on the effect of different types of sEMG-driven interventions on upper limb function in people with stroke.

Real-Time and Offline Evaluation of Myoelectric Pattern Recognition for the Decoding of Hand Movements.

Pattern recognition algorithms have been widely used to map surface electromyographic signals to target movements as a source for prosthetic control. However, most investigations have been conducted offline by performing the analysis on pre-recorded datasets. While real-time data analysis (i.

Transit Time Measurement in Indicator Dilution Curves: Overcoming the Missing Ground Truth and Quantifying the Error.

The vascular function of a vessel can be qualitatively and intraoperatively checked by recording the blood dynamics inside the vessel via fluorescence angiography (FA). Although FA is the state of the art in proving the existence of blood flow during interventions such as bypass surgery, it still lacks a quantitative blood flow measurement that could decrease the recurrence rate and postsurgical mortality. Previous approaches show that the measured flow has a significant deviation compared to the gold standard reference (ultrasonic flow meter).

Large-Scale Analysis of Apolipoprotein CIII Glycosylation by Ultrahigh Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Apolipoprotein-CIII (apo-CIII) is a glycoprotein involved in lipid metabolism and its levels are associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Apo-CIII sialylation is associated with improved plasma triglyceride levels and its glycosylation may have an effect on the clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by directing these particles to different metabolic pathways. Large-scale sample cohort studies are required to fully elucidate the role of apo-CIII glycosylation in lipid metabolism and associated cardiovascular disease.

Exploration of individualized goals and ergonomic modifications to address sedentary behaviors and perceived health and well-being among office workers.

Background: Office workers spend significant time in sedentary behaviors. Exploration of interventions to address this concern is warranted.

Objective: This study explored the impact of individualized goals and ergonomic modifications on sedentary behaviors and perceived health and well-being among office workers.

Atomic scale displacements detected by optical image cross-correlation analysis and 3D printed marker arrays.

For analyzing displacement-vector fields in mechanics, for example to characterize the properties of 3D printed mechanical metamaterials, routine high-precision position measurements are indispensable. For this purpose, nanometer-scale localization errors have been achieved by wide-field optical-image cross-correlation analysis. Here, we bring this approach to atomic-scale accuracy by combining it with well-defined 3D printed marker arrays.

Metformin and statin use associate with plasma protein -glycosylation in people with type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Recent studies revealed -glycosylation signatures of type 2 diabetes, inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors. Most people with diabetes use medication to reduce cardiovascular risk. The association of these medications with the plasma -glycome is largely unknown.

In Silico Modelling of Blood Vessel Segmentations for Estimation of Discretization Error in Spatial Measurement and its Impact on Quantitative Fluorescence Angiography.

Today the vascular function after interventions as Bypass surgeries are checked qualitatively by observing the blood dynamics inside the vessel via Indocyanine Green (ICG) Fluorescence Angiography. This state-of-the-art should be upgraded and has to be improved and converted towards a quantitatively measured blood flow. Previous approaches show that the blood flow measured from fluorescence angiography cannot be easily calibrated to a gold standard reference.

Evaluation of surface EMG-based recognition algorithms for decoding hand movements.

Myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR) to decode limb movements is an important advancement regarding the control of powered prostheses. However, this technology is not yet in wide clinical use. Improvements in MPR could potentially increase the functionality of powered prostheses.

The Exploration of Occupational Therapy Interventions to Address Sedentary Behavior and Pain Among Older Adults.

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of an occupational therapy intervention to address sedentary behavior and pain among older adults residing in assisted living facilities. A single group pretest and posttest design was implemented using the Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire, actigraphy technology, and daily activity logs to measure sedentary behavior. The Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire was used to assess pain.

Improved Prosthetic Control Based on Myoelectric Pattern Recognition via Wavelet-Based De-Noising.

Real-time inference of human motor volition has great potential for the intuitive control of robotic devices. Toward this end, myoelectric pattern recognition (MPR) has shown promise in the control of prosthetic limbs. Interfering noise and susceptibility to motion artifacts have hindered the use of MPR outside controlled environments, and thus represent an obstacle for clinical use.

Controlling the extrudate swell in melt extrusion additive manufacturing of 3D scaffolds: a designed experiment.

Tissue engineering using three-dimensional porous scaffolds has shown promise for the restoration of normal function in injured and diseased tissues and organs. Rigorous control over scaffold architecture in melt extrusion additive manufacturing is highly restricted mainly due to pronounced variations in the deposited strand diameter upon any variations in process conditions and polymer viscoelasticity. We have designed an I-optimal, split-plot experiment to study the extrudate swell in melt extrusion additive manufacturing and to control the scaffold architecture.

Uncloaking diffusive-light invisibility cloaks by speckle analysis.

Within the range of validity of the stationary diffusion equation, an ideal diffusive-light invisibility cloak can make an arbitrary macroscopic object hidden inside of the cloak indistinguishable from the surroundings for all colors, polarizations, and directions of incident visible light. However, the diffusion equation for light is an approximation which becomes exact only in the limit of small coherence length. Thus, one expects that the cloak can be revealed by illumination with coherent light.

Micro-Structured Two-Component 3D Metamaterials with Negative Thermal-Expansion Coefficient from Positive Constituents.

Controlling the thermal expansion of materials is of great technological importance. Uncontrolled thermal expansion can lead to failure or irreversible destruction of structures and devices. In ordinary crystals, thermal expansion is governed by the asymmetry of the microscopic binding potential, which cannot be adjusted easily.

Dynamic clonal equilibrium and predetermined cancer risk in Barrett's oesophagus.

Surveillance of Barrett's oesophagus allows us to study the evolutionary dynamics of a human neoplasm over time. Here we use multicolour fluorescence in situ hybridization on brush cytology specimens, from two time points with a median interval of 37 months in 195 non-dysplastic Barrett's patients, and a third time point in a subset of 90 patients at a median interval of 36 months, to study clonal evolution at single-cell resolution. Baseline genetic diversity predicts progression and remains in a stable dynamic equilibrium over time.

Wiring up pre-characterized single-photon emitters by laser lithography.

Future quantum optical chips will likely be hybrid in nature and include many single-photon emitters, waveguides, filters, as well as single-photon detectors. Here, we introduce a scalable optical localization-selection-lithography procedure for wiring up a large number of single-photon emitters via polymeric photonic wire bonds in three dimensions. First, we localize and characterize nitrogen vacancies in nanodiamonds inside a solid photoresist exhibiting low background fluorescence.