A research protocol to study the critical time window for rehabilitation after incomplete spinal cord injury: early vs. late locomotor training.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in severe motor and sensory deficits, leading to significant disability. Preclinical studies and retrospective studies suggest that a critical window of enhanced neuroplasticity may exist immediately after SCI, during which therapeutic interventions could yield greater functional improvements. The impact of time interval since SCI on efficacy of rehabilitation has not been directly assessed and is the focus of this clinical trial.

Appendage- and Scaffold-Diverse Electrophilic and Photoreactive Probes for Integrated Phenotypic Screening-Target Identification Campaigns via a Minimalist Bifunctional Isocyanide.

One of the grand challenges in chemical biology is identifying a small-molecule modulator for all proteins within a proteome. To expand the variety and number of ligandable proteins for drug discovery, the objective of this study was to synthesize and evaluate the protein target profiles of electrophilic and photoreactive fully functionalized small-molecule probes (FFSMPs) featuring increased scaffold-, appendage-, and protein-reactive functional group (PRFG) diversity. FFSMPs contain: (1) a protein-binding motif, (2) an electrophilic or photoreactive PRFG for target protein capture, and (3) a terminal alkyne for click chemistry-based proteomic applications.

Wheelchair Repairs: Delays, Causes, and Associated Outcomes.

Objective: To examine the length of time to complete wheelchair repairs and the relationship between negative outcomes and the factors that prevented or determined who performed the repairs.

Design: Survey, cross-sectional.

Setting: Nine spinal cord injury (SCI) Model Systems Centers.

Dosing overground robotic gait training after spinal cord injury: a randomized clinical trial protocol.

Background: Robotic exoskeletons have changed rehabilitation care available to people after spinal cord injury (SCI). Yet, the current evidence base is insufficient to identify the optimal dose and neurophysiological mechanism of robotic exoskeleton gait training (RGT) as an effective rehabilitation approach. This study will (1) examine whether the frequency of RGT after motor incomplete SCI impacts function and health outcomes, (2) analyze the neuroplastic effects of RGT dose, and (3) evaluate the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of delivering RGT.

Early robotic gait training after stroke (ERA Stroke): study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Walking impairment after stroke is associated with substantial limitations in functional independence, quality of life, and long-term survival. People in the subacute phase after stroke who are unable to walk are most likely to benefit the greatest from use of overground robotic gait training (RGT). This study will provide preliminary evidence regarding the clinical use and efficacy of RGT during the subacute phase of stroke recovery as well as observational findings associated with the safety, tolerability, feasibility, and cost of delivering RGT during inpatient stroke rehabilitation.

Electric charging effects on insulating surfaces in cryogenic liquids.

This paper presents a new technique to study the adsorption and desorption of ions and electrons on insulating surfaces in the presence of strong electric fields in cryoliquids. The experimental design consists of a compact cryostat coupled with a sensitive electro-optical Kerr device to monitor the stability of the electric fields. The behavior of nitrogen and helium ions on a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surface was compared to a PMMA surface coated with a mixture of deuterated polystyrene and deuterated polybutadiene.

Clinical Delivery of Overground Exoskeleton Gait Training in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury Across the Continuum of Care: A Retrospective Analysis.

Background: After spinal cord injury (SCI), inpatient rehabilitation begins and continues through outpatient therapy. Overground exoskeleton gait training (OEGT) has been shown to be feasible in both settings, yet its use as an intervention across the continuum has not yet been reported.

Objectives: This study describes OEGT for patients with SCI across the continuum and its effects on clinical outcomes.

Feasibility of overground exoskeleton gait training during inpatient rehabilitation after severe acquired brain injury.

Objective: To describe the safety, feasibility, and tolerability of overground exoskeleton gait training (OEGT) integrated into clinical practice for patients after severe acquired brain injury (ABI).

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: Eligible patients with severe ABI met the following criteria: age > 18, medically stable, met exoskeleton frame limitations, and a score of ≤ 3 on the motor function portion of the Coma Recovery Scale - Revised (CRS-R).

Driving among individuals with chronic conditions: A systematic review of applied research using kinematic driving sensors.

Background: Kinematic driving data studies are a novel methodology relevant to health care, but prior studies have considerable variance in their methods, populations, and findings suggesting a need for critical analysis and appraisal for feasibility and methodological guidelines.

Methods: We assessed kinematic driving studies of adults with chronic conditions for study feasibility, characteristics, and key findings, to generate recommendations for future study designs, and to identify promising directions for applications of kinematic driving data. PRISMA was used to guide the review and searches included PubMed, CINAHL, and Compendex.

Linking biomarkers with healthy lifestyle outcomes after stroke: Supplementary results of a 12-month randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aims: Participation in a healthy lifestyle intervention such as the Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance-adapted for stroke (GLB-CVA) may reduce stroke burden. Identifying biomarkers associated with lifestyle changes may enhance an individualized approach to stroke recovery. We investigated metabolic biomarkers related to cardiovascular and neurological function in individuals with stroke in the GLB-CVA study and healthy (non-stroke) individuals.

Caregiver experiences of social support following stroke.

Objectives: Informal caregivers need to support their loved ones while performing caregiving responsibilities. A phenomenological qualitative study was done to understand the role of social support accessible for stroke caregivers.

Materials And Methods: The respondents were enrolled from different organizations or support groups who were conducting activities specifically for stroke victims and/or their caregivers.

Results of a 12-Month Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of the Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance (DPP-GLB) for People Post Stroke (GLB-CVA).

Background: Experience of stroke is associated with an increased risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome, yet few interventions exist that have been tailored to the population's unique needs.

Purpose: To examine adherence and efficacy of the Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance program (DPP-GLB) modified for individuals post stroke (GLB-CVA) using a randomized controlled trial.

Methods: Adults (18-85 years of age), >12 months post stroke, and body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 were included in this study.

Utilization of overground exoskeleton gait training during inpatient rehabilitation: a descriptive analysis.

Background: Overground exoskeleton gait training (OEGT) after neurological injury is safe, feasible, and may yield positive outcomes. However, no recommendations exist for initiation, progression, or termination of OEGT. This retrospective study highlights the clinical use and decision-making of OEGT within the physical therapy plan of care for patients after neurological injury during inpatient rehabilitation.

A randomized controlled trial protocol for people with traumatic brain injury enrolled in a telehealth delivered diabetes prevention program (tGLB-TBI).

Obesity rates after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are high and are associated with greater risk of morbidity (diabetes, hypertension) and mortality when compared to the general population. Evidence-based interventions for this population are needed and our work modifying and examining the efficacy of the Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance (GLB-TBI) are promising. Our recent randomized controlled trial included 57 adults with TBI who completed the GLB-TBI in-person and lost 17.

Exploring the relationship between sleep apnea and vestibular symptoms following traumatic brain injury.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex health problem in military veterans and service members (V/SM) that often involves comorbid vestibular impairment. Sleep apnea is another comorbidity that may exacerbate, and/or be exacerbated by, vestibular dysfunction.

Objective: To examine the relationship between sleep apnea and vestibular symptoms in V/SM diagnosed with TBI of any severity.

Intensity of overground robotic exoskeleton training in two persons with motor-complete tetraplegia: a case series.

Introduction: Participation in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) is recommended to reduce chronic disease risk in individuals with tetraplegia. Assessing exercise intensity using traditional methods, such as heart rate, may be inaccurate in patients with motor-complete tetraplegia due to autonomic and neuromuscular dysfunction. Direct gas analysis may be more accurate.

Relative contribution of acute cognitive and motor functioning on community integration 1 year after moderate-severe TBI.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to understand the relative contribution of acute motor versus cognitive functioning on community integration 1 year after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: Secondary data analysis of 779 participants in the TBI Model Systems National Database who experienced a moderate-severe TBI requiring inpatient rehabilitation. Participants were categorized into four groups: low motor/low cognition, low motor/high cognition, high motor/low cognition, or high motor/high cognition.

The Safety and Feasibility of Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill Training in Individuals with Chronic Stroke: An Exploratory Study.

Background: Lower body positive pressure (LBPP) may provide a novel intervention for gait training in neurological conditions. Nonetheless, studies investigating the safety and feasibility of LBPP in patients with stroke are insufficient.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of LBPP as a rehabilitation intervention for individuals with chronic stroke.

Prevention of posttraumatic stress during inpatient rehabilitation post spinal cord injury: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of Brief Prolonged Exposure Therapy (Brief PE).

Background: Scant research has focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the SCI population, despite high prevalence estimates. Fortunately, prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is a well-researched and highly effective treatment for PTSD. Our recent clinical trial showed that standard 12-session PE was effective for PTSD treatment among inpatients with SCI.

Efficacy of the Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance Program Modified for Individuals with TBI (GLB-TBI): Results from a 12-month Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Obesity after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a public health issue and no evidence-based weight loss interventions exist to meet the unique needs of individuals after TBI.

Purpose: To (a) examine the efficacy of the Diabetes Prevention Program Group Lifestyle Balance for TBI (GLB-TBI) weight-loss intervention compared to an attention control for primary (weight-loss) and secondary health outcomes; (b) determine participant compliance with the GLB-TBI; and (c) determine if compliance is associated with improved outcomes.

Methods: Individuals with moderate to severe TBI, age 18-64 years, ≥6 months postinjury, and body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 were randomized to a 12-month, 22-session GLB-TBI intervention or attention control condition.

The Effect of an Overnight Summer Camp on the Quality of Life for Individuals Who Require Ventilatory Support.

Purpose: Summer camps are a modality that addresses barriers to social interaction. Although there is a growing amount of evidence supporting camps for individuals with chronic illness, there is no known research on camp experiences for those who require ventilatory support. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of attending camp on self-esteem, social functioning, emotional functioning, and physical functioning for individuals who require ventilatory support.

Foundational ingredients of robotic gait training for people with incomplete spinal cord injury during inpatient rehabilitation (FIRST): A randomized controlled trial protocol.

Introduction: As technological advances allow the use of robotic exoskeleton devices with gait training, there is a critical need to establish a robotic gait training (RGT) program to meet the needs of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) during inpatient rehabilitation. The purposes of this study are to prospectively examine the efficacy of a stakeholder informed RGT program compared to usual care gait training (UC) during inpatient rehabilitation in people with incomplete SCI and compare the intensity of RGT and UC gait training during inpatient rehabilitation.

Study Design: 128 patients with incomplete SCI admitted to our inpatient rehabilitation facility will be screened for eligibility and randomized to either the RGT or UC group.

Improved Neutron Lifetime Measurement with UCNτ.

We report an improved measurement of the free neutron lifetime τ_{n} using the UCNτ apparatus at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. We count a total of approximately 38×10^{6} surviving ultracold neutrons (UCNs) after storing in UCNτ's magnetogravitational trap over two data acquisition campaigns in 2017 and 2018. We extract τ_{n} from three blinded, independent analyses by both pairing long and short storage time runs to find a set of replicate τ_{n} measurements and by performing a global likelihood fit to all data while self-consistently incorporating the β-decay lifetime.

Walking with and without a robotic exoskeleton in people with incomplete spinal cord injury compared to a typical gait pattern.

Background: Robotic exoskeleton (RE) enables individuals with lower extremity weakness or paralysis to stand and walk in a stereotypical pattern.

Objective: Examine whether people with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) demonstrate a more typical gait pattern when walking overground in a RE than when walking without.

Methods: Motion analysis system synchronized with a surface electromyographic (EMG) was used to obtain temporospatial gait parameters, lower extremity kinematics, and muscle activity in ambulatory individuals with SCI and healthy adults.