Transhumeral prosthesis use and disuse affects whole-body angular momentum.

Background: Individuals with transhumeral limb loss have an increased risk of falling, potentially resulting from altered upper-body kinematics during gait. The purpose of this study was to investigate whole-body angular momentum as a measure of movement control, to gain an understanding of how these upper-body kinematics contribute to dynamic balance.

Methods: Eight participants with transhumeral limb loss and eight able-bodied control participants completed three gait trials at self-selected speeds.

Transhumeral prosthesis use affects upper body kinematics and kinetics.

Background: Transhumeral (TH) limb loss leads to loss of body mass and reduced shoulder range of motion. Despite most owning a prosthesis, prosthesis abandonment is common. The consequence of TH limb loss and prosthesis use and disuse during gait may be compensation in the upper body, contributing to back pain or injury.

The effect of amplitude normalization technique, walking speed, and reporting metric on whole-body angular momentum and its interpretation during normal gait.

Whole-body angular momentum (WBAM) represents the cancellations of angular momenta that are produced during a reciprocal gait pattern. WBAM is sensitive to small changes and is used to compare dynamic gait patterns under different walking conditions. Study designs and the normalization techniques used to define WBAM vary and make comparisons between studies difficult.

The pioneer factor SOX9 competes for epigenetic factors to switch stem cell fates.

During development, progenitors simultaneously activate one lineage while silencing another, a feature highly regulated in adult stem cells but derailed in cancers. Equipped to bind cognate motifs in closed chromatin, pioneer factors operate at these crossroads, but how they perform fate switching remains elusive. Here we tackle this question with SOX9, a master regulator that diverts embryonic epidermal stem cells (EpdSCs) into becoming hair follicle stem cells.

The effect of time to amputation on medical costs accrued during the first twelve months after injury-A California workers' compensation claims study.

Background: This study investigated whether the time to amputation (TtoA) after a work-related injury had a significant effect on the medical costs accrued in the first year after injury.

Data Source: Six thousand nine hundred fifty-three person-level workers' compensation claims data from the state of California, USA, from 2007 to 2018.

Methods: Multiple quantile regression was used to assess the impact of TtoA on medical costs accrued during the first 12 months after injury.

Upper-extremity kinematics and interlimb movement correlation in persons with Parkinson Disease on irregular terrain, cross-slope, and under dual-task condition.

Background: A defining clinical characteristics of Parkinson disease is reduced upper-extremity movements. Irregular terrain, the presence of a cross slope, and dual-task conditions have been found to alter the lower-limb gait characteristics of persons with Parkinson disease but there is little information how different environmental and cognitive conditions impact upper-limb kinematics as well as interlimb movement correlation.

Research Question: Do environmental conditions, such as irregular terrain and the presence of cross slope, as well as dual-task condition impact the upper-extremity kinematics and interlimb movement correlation of persons with Parkinson disease compared to healthy, age-matched controls?

Methods: Three-dimensional whole-body gait data were collected for nine participants with mild-to-moderate Parkinson disease and nine healthy age-matched control participants.

Regulation of whole-body and segmental angular momentum in persons with Parkinson's disease on an irregular surface.

Background: Persons with Parkinson's disease have impaired motor control that increases their chance of falling when walking, especially on difficult terrains. This study investigated how persons with Parkinson's disease regulate their dynamic balance on a regular and an irregular surface.

Methods: Nine participants with Parkinson's disease and nine healthy, age-matched control participants ambulated on both a regular and an irregular surface.

Cervical Muscle Activation Characteristics and Head Kinematics in Males and Females Following Acoustic Warnings and Impulsive Head Forces.

Sex, head and neck posture, and cervical muscle preparation are contributing factors in the severity of head and neck injuries. However, it is unknown how these factors modulate the head kinematics. In this study, twenty-four (16 male and 8 female) participants experienced 50 impulsive forces to their heads with and without an acoustic warning.

The role of neck muscle co-contraction and postural changes in head kinematics after safe head impacts: Investigation of head/neck injury reduction.

Concerns surrounding concussions from impacts to the head necessitate research to generate new knowledge about ways to prevent them and reduce risk. In this paper, we report the relative temporal characteristics of the head resulting from neck muscle co-contraction and postural changes following a sudden force applied to the head in four different directions. In the two "prepared" conditions (i.

Trends in incidence and correlation between medical costs and lost workdays for work-related amputations in the State of California from 2007 to 2018.

Background: Detailed information regarding workers who experience an amputation in the workplace over the last decade is limited. To better understand the financial and functional impact of a work-related amputation, this study quantifies the incidence of work-related amputations in the California workforce from 2007 to 2018 as well as the relationship between medical costs and lost workdays as a function of amputation level.

Methods: Workers' compensation claims data from California spanning the years 2007 to 2018 were evaluated to describe trends in amputation incidence (N = 16 931).

Cervical Muscle Activation Due to an Applied Force in Response to Different Types of Acoustic Warnings.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and whiplash-associated disorder are the most common head and neck injuries and result from a sudden head or body acceleration. The head and neck injury potential is correlated with the awareness, level of muscle activation, and posture changes at the time of the perturbation. Environmental acoustic stimuli or a warning system can influence muscle activation and posture during a head perturbation.

Epigenetic Analysis in Ewing Sarcoma.

Ewing sarcoma is a highly malignant tumor characterized by a chromosomal translocation that modifies the activity of an ETS family transcription factor. The most prevalent translocation product, EWSR1-FLI1, exploits a permissive and unique chromatin environment of stem cells, and transforms them into an oncogenic state through alterations to gene expression and gene regulatory programs. Though the transformation ability of, and subsequent reliance on EWSR1-FLI1 had been previously described, the advent of genome-wide sequencing technologies allowed for the specific identification of genomic loci and genes targeted by EWSR1-FLI1.

Changes in Step Characteristics Over a Known Outdoor Surface Transition: The Effect of Parkinson Disease.

The factors that contribute to the difficulties persons with Parkinson Disease (PwPD) have when negotiating transitions in walking surfaces are not completely known. The authors investigated if PwPD adjusted their step characteristics when negotiating a familiar outdoor surface transition between synthetic concrete and synthetic turf. Force plate and motion capture data were collected for 10 participants with mild to moderate Parkinson disease and 5 healthy older control participants ambulating bidirectionally across the transition between synthetic concrete and synthetic turf.

BMP signaling: at the gate between activated melanocyte stem cells and differentiation.

Through recurrent bouts synchronous with the hair cycle, quiescent melanocyte stem cells (McSCs) become activated to generate proliferative progeny that differentiate into pigment-producing melanocytes. The signaling factors orchestrating these events remain incompletely understood. Here, we use single-cell RNA sequencing with comparative gene expression analysis to elucidate the transcriptional dynamics of McSCs through quiescence, activation, and melanocyte maturation.

An RNAi screen unravels the complexities of Rho GTPase networks in skin morphogenesis.

During mammalian embryogenesis, extensive cellular remodeling is needed for tissue morphogenesis. As effectors of cytoskeletal dynamics, Rho GTPases and their regulators are likely involved, but their daunting complexity has hindered progress in dissecting their functions. We overcome this hurdle by employing high throughput in utero RNAi-mediated screening to identify key Rho regulators of skin morphogenesis.

Distinct modes of cell competition shape mammalian tissue morphogenesis.

Cell competition-the sensing and elimination of less fit 'loser' cells by neighbouring 'winner' cells-was first described in Drosophila. Although cell competition has been proposed as a selection mechanism to optimize tissue and organ development, its evolutionary generality remains unclear. Here, by using live imaging, lineage tracing, single-cell transcriptomics and genetics, we identify two cell competition mechanisms that sequentially shape and maintain the architecture of stratified tissue during skin development in mice.

EWSR1-FLI1 Activation of the Cancer/Testis Antigen FATE1 Promotes Ewing Sarcoma Survival.

Ewing sarcoma is characterized by a pathognomonic chromosomal translocation that generates the EWSR1-FLI1 chimeric transcription factor. The transcriptional targets of EWSR1-FLI1 that are essential for tumorigenicity are incompletely defined. Here, we found that EWSR1-FLI1 modulates the expression of cancer/testis (CT) antigen genes, whose expression is biased to the testes but is also activated in cancer.

Author Correction: Inflammatory memory sensitizes skin epithelial stem cells to tissue damage.

In Fig. 2g of this Article, a panel was inadvertently duplicated. The 'D30 IMQ' image was a duplicate of the 'D6 Ctrl' image.

Hacking Hackathons: Preparing the next generation for the multidisciplinary world of healthcare technology.

Objective: Machine learning in healthcare, and innovative healthcare technology in general, require complex interactions within multidisciplinary teams. Healthcare hackathons are being increasingly used as a model for cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning. The aim of this study is to explore high school student learning experiences during a healthcare hackathon.

Inflammatory memory sensitizes skin epithelial stem cells to tissue damage.

The skin barrier is the body's first line of defence against environmental assaults, and is maintained by epithelial stem cells (EpSCs). Despite the vulnerability of EpSCs to inflammatory pressures, neither the primary response to inflammation nor its enduring consequences are well understood. Here we report a prolonged memory to acute inflammation that enables mouse EpSCs to hasten barrier restoration after subsequent tissue damage.

Stem Cell Lineage Infidelity Drives Wound Repair and Cancer.

Tissue stem cells contribute to tissue regeneration and wound repair through cellular programs that can be hijacked by cancer cells. Here, we investigate such a phenomenon in skin, where during homeostasis, stem cells of the epidermis and hair follicle fuel their respective tissues. We find that breakdown of stem cell lineage confinement-granting privileges associated with both fates-is not only hallmark but also functional in cancer development.

Translation from unconventional 5' start sites drives tumour initiation.

We are just beginning to understand how translational control affects tumour initiation and malignancy. Here we use an epidermis-specific, in vivo ribosome profiling strategy to investigate the translational landscape during the transition from normal homeostasis to malignancy. Using a mouse model of inducible SOX2, which is broadly expressed in oncogenic RAS-associated cancers, we show that despite widespread reductions in translation and protein synthesis, certain oncogenic mRNAs are spared.

Widespread Chromatin Accessibility at Repetitive Elements Links Stem Cells with Human Cancer.

Chromatin regulation is critical for differentiation and disease. However, features linking the chromatin environment of stem cells with disease remain largely unknown. We explored chromatin accessibility in embryonic and multipotent stem cells and unexpectedly identified widespread chromatin accessibility at repetitive elements.

A high-resolution transcriptome map of cell cycle reveals novel connections between periodic genes and cancer.

Progression through the cell cycle is largely dependent on waves of periodic gene expression, and the regulatory networks for these transcriptome dynamics have emerged as critical points of vulnerability in various aspects of tumor biology. Through RNA-sequencing of human cells during two continuous cell cycles (>2.3 billion paired reads), we identified over 1 000 mRNAs, non-coding RNAs and pseudogenes with periodic expression.