Brain-controlled robotic arm systems are designed to provide a method of communication and control for individuals with limited mobility or communication abilities. These systems can be beneficial for people who have suffered from a spinal cord injury, stroke, or neurological disease that affects their motor abilities. The ability of a person to control a robotic arm to reach and grasp multiple objects using their brain signals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Early detection is important for timely intervention. This paper assesses the ability of a machine learning screening tool (MUST-Plus) implemented in registered dietitian (RD) workflow to identify malnourished patients early in the hospital stay and to improve the diagnosis and documentation rate of malnutrition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human body represents a collection of interacting systems that range in scale from nanometers to meters. Investigations from a systems perspective focus on how the parts work together to enact changes across spatial scales, and further our understanding of how systems function and fail. Here, we highlight systems approaches presented at the 2022 Summer Biomechanics, Bio-engineering, and Biotransport Conference in the areas of solid mechanics; fluid mechanics; tissue and cellular engineering; biotransport; and design, dynamics, and rehabilitation; and biomechanics education.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenerative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude have recently become a concern in the delivery of engineering education. For courses focused on computer coding, such tools are capable for creating working computer code across a range of computer languages and computing platforms. In a course for mechanical engineers focused on C++ coding for the Arduino microcontroller and coding engineering problems in Matlab, a new approach to assessment of programing homework assignments was developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh nerve density in tumors and metastasis via nerves (perineural invasion-PNI) have been reported extensively in solid tumors throughout the body including pancreatic, head and neck, gastric, prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers. Ablation of tumor nerves results in improved disease outcomes, suggesting that blocking nerve-tumor communication could be a novel treatment strategy. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Machine learning (ML)-based clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are popular in clinical practice settings but are often criticized for being limited in usability, interpretability, and effectiveness. Evaluating the implementation of ML-based CDSS is critical to ensure CDSS is acceptable and useful to clinicians and helps them deliver high-quality health care. Malnutrition is a common and underdiagnosed condition among hospital patients, which can have serious adverse impacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of manufactured chemicals that are resistant to degradation and thus persistent in the environment. The presence, uptake, and accumulation of PFAS is dependent upon the physiochemical properties of the PFAS and matrix, as well as the environmental conditions since the time of release. The objective of this study was to measure the extent of PFAS contamination in surface water and sediment from nine vulnerable aquatic systems throughout Florida.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Obstet Gynecol
September 2023
Background: "Laparoscopist's thumb," or thenar paresthesia, can result from prolonged or excessive grip force during laparoscopy, as can more general syndromes, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. This is particularly relevant in gynecology, where laparoscopic procedures are standard. Although this method of injury is well known, there is a paucity of data to guide surgeons in selecting more efficient, ergonomic instruments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of manufactured chemicals that have been extensively utilized worldwide. We hypothesize that the presence, uptake, and accumulation of PFAS in aquatic vegetation (AV) is dependent upon several factors, such as the physiochemical properties of PFAS and proximity to potential sources. In this study, AV was collected from eight locations in Florida to investigate the PFAS presence, accumulation, and spatiotemporal distribution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic nipple pain can be challenging to a multidisciplinary care team. We report a case of a patient who experienced years of ineffective treatment before presenting to the pain management clinic. Upon presentation, the patient was trialed on neuropathic agents, topical pain medications, acupuncture, calcium channel blockers, intercostal nerve blocks, pulsed radiofrequency, and a spinal cord stimulator trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWomen display a wide range of subjective (self-reported), physiological (genital response), and emotional responses to sexual stimuli. Sexual responses are often assessed using quantitative methodologies; qualitative data can corroborate quantitative data and reveal novel information and avenues for discovery for understanding variations in patterns of sexual response. The current study examined women's (n = 148) responses to various sexual and non-sexual stimuli through open-ended, free response thought journals immediately after watching various neutral (nature themed) and sexually explicit video clips (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Alternative splicing provides a broad strategy to amplify the genome. Yet how alternative splicing influences neurodevelopment or indeed which variants are translated at developmental choice points remains poorly explored. Here we focused on a gene important for neurodevelopment, the Lim homeodomain transcription factor, Lhx9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTropical cyclones drive coastal ecosystem dynamics, and their frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution are predicted to shift with climate change. Patterns of resistance and resilience were synthesized for 4138 ecosystem time series from = 26 storms occurring between 1985 and 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere to predict how coastal ecosystems will respond to future disturbance regimes. Data were grouped by ecosystems (fresh water, salt water, terrestrial, and wetland) and response categories (biogeochemistry, hydrography, mobile biota, sedentary fauna, and vascular plants).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The past two decades have witnessed a surge in the use of cervical spine joint procedures including joint injections, nerve blocks and radiofrequency ablation to treat chronic neck pain, yet many aspects of the procedures remain controversial.
Methods: In August 2020, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and the American Academy of Pain Medicine approved and charged the Cervical Joint Working Group to develop neck pain guidelines. Eighteen stakeholder societies were identified, and formal request-for-participation and member nomination letters were sent to those organizations.
Background: The past two decades have witnessed a surge in the use of cervical spine joint procedures including joint injections, nerve blocks and radiofrequency ablation to treat chronic neck pain, yet many aspects of the procedures remain controversial.
Methods: In August 2020, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and the American Academy of Pain Medicine approved and charged the Cervical Joint Working Group to develop neck pain guidelines. Eighteen stakeholder societies were identified, and formal request-for-participation and member nomination letters were sent to those organizations.
Nerve agents (NAs) induce a severe cholinergic crisis that can lead to status epilepticus (SE). Current guidelines for treatment of NA-induced SE only include prehospital benzodiazepines, which may not fully resolve this life-threatening condition. This study examined the efficacy of general clinical protocols for treatment of SE in the specific context of NA poisoning in adult male rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMediastinal masses can be challenging to the surgical team and anesthetic considerations vary according to the location, pathology, surgical approach, and patient comorbidities. We report the case of a 21 cm symptomatic intrathoracic teratoma in a postpartum patient with a history of poliomyelitis. Significant challenges were presented for anesthetic induction, potential extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and the use of neuraxial pain techniques and neuromuscular blockade.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensory information relayed to the brain is dependent on complex, yet precise spatial organization of neurons. This anatomical complexity is generated during development from a surprisingly small number of neural stem cell domains. This raises the question of how neurons derived from a common precursor domain respond uniquely to their environment to elaborate correct spatial organization and connectivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
March 2021
DNA is a powerful tool for programming the three-dimensional organization of nanomaterials, where the specificity of nucleotide base-pairing can enable precise, complex, and dynamically addressable structures like colloidal crystals. However, because these DNA-programmed materials are often only stable in solution, their organization can be easily disrupted by changes to its local environment. Methods to stabilize these materials have been developed, but often come at the expense of altering or permanently fixing the materials' structures, removing many of the benefits of using DNA interactions to program assembly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute type I aortic dissection is a life-threatening emergency with potentially devastating complications, including end-organ malperfusion. Early detection of malperfusion with intraoperative imaging allows for efficient transition to appropriate interventions. We present a case of a 65-year-old male with acute type I aortic dissection who underwent emergent surgical repair of the aortic root and hemiarch followed by acutely worsening distal malperfusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Malnutrition among hospital patients, a frequent, yet under-diagnosed problem is associated with adverse impact on patient outcome and health care costs. Development of highly accurate malnutrition screening tools is, therefore, essential for its timely detection, for providing nutritional care, and for addressing the concerns related to the suboptimal predictive value of the conventional screening tools, such as the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). We aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) based classifier (MUST-Plus) for more accurate prediction of malnutrition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to meet the needs of industry, graduate schools should consider adding design-based programs to their curriculum. A majority of Ph.D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Manipulative Physiol Ther
February 2020
Objective: Lumbar mobilization is a standard intervention for the management of low back pain, yet ways to quantify lumbar mobilization are limited. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is a small and inexpensive device that can be used to quantify lumbar mobilization. The objective of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of an IMU in measuring the amplitude of displacement of a clinician's hand movement during oscillatory lumbar mobilization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Lumbar mobilization is a standard intervention for lower back pain (LBP). However, its effect on the activity of back muscles is not well known.
Objectives: To investigate the effects of lumbar mobilization on the activity/contraction of erector spinae (ES) and lumbar multifidus (LM) muscles in people with LBP.
Aims: People with chronic low back pain (CLBP) tend to have altered postural control. Visual biofeedback may be used to restore postural control. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of visual biofeedback on seated postural trunk control in subjects with CLBP, and to investigate the relationship between the postural control parameters and clinical tests.
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