Early poststroke clinically significant fatigue predicts functional independence: a prospective longitudinal study.

Background: Poststroke fatigue is a prevalent issue among stroke survivors, significantly impeding functional recovery and diminishing their quality of life.

Aim: This prospective cohort study aims to investigate the association between poststroke fatigue and the extent of functional recovery in survivors of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. Additionally, it seeks to delineate the temporal progression of poststroke fatigue in these two stroke subtypes.

Experimental Validation of an Upper Limb Benchmarking Framework in Healthy and Post-Stroke Individuals: A Pilot Study.

In the context of neurorehabilitation, there have been rapid and continuous improvements in sensors-based clinical tools to quantify limb performance. As a result of the increasing integration of technologies in the assessment procedure, the need to integrate evidence-based medicine with benchmarking has emerged in the scientific community. In this work, we present the experimental validation of our previously proposed benchmarking scheme for upper limb capabilities in terms of repeatability, reproducibility, and clinical meaningfulness.

Modulation of neuronal dynamics by sustained and activity-dependent continuous-wave near-infrared laser stimulation.

Significance: Near-infrared laser illumination is a non-invasive alternative/complement to classical stimulation methods in neuroscience but the mechanisms underlying its action on neuronal dynamics remain unclear. Most studies deal with high-frequency pulsed protocols and stationary characterizations disregarding the dynamic modulatory effect of sustained and activity-dependent stimulation. The understanding of such modulation and its widespread dissemination can help to develop specific interventions for research applications and treatments for neural disorders.

Exploring EEG-based motor imagery decoding: a dual approach using spatial features and spectro-spatial Deep Learning model IFNet.

Introduction: In recent years, the decoding of motor imagery (MI) from electroencephalography (EEG) signals has become a focus of research for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) and neurorehabilitation. However, EEG signals present challenges due to their non-stationarity and the substantial presence of noise commonly found in recordings, making it difficult to design highly effective decoding algorithms. These algorithms are vital for controlling devices in neurorehabilitation tasks, as they activate the patient's motor cortex and contribute to their recovery.

Seven-chain adaptive immune receptor repertoire analysis in rheumatoid arthritis reveals novel features associated with disease and clinically relevant phenotypes.

Background: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the activation of T and B cell clones specific for self-antigens leads to the chronic inflammation of the synovium. Here, we perform an in-depth quantitative analysis of the seven chains that comprise the adaptive immune receptor repertoire (AIRR) in RA.

Results: In comparison to controls, we show that RA patients have multiple and strong differences in the B cell receptor repertoire including reduced diversity as well as altered isotype, chain, and segment frequencies.

The complex landscape of TMS devices: A brief overview.

The increasing application of TMS in research and therapy has spawned an ever-growing number of commercial and non-commercial TMS devices and technology development. New CE-marked devices appear at a rate of approximately one every two years, with new FDA-approved application of TMS occurring at a similar rate. With the resulting complex landscape of TMS devices and their application, accessible information about the technological characteristics of the TMS devices, such as the type of their circuitry, their pulse characteristics, or permitted protocols would be beneficial.

Magnetoinductive metasurface of capacitively-loaded split rings for local field homogenization in a 7 T MRI birdcage: A simulation study.

The transmit field B in a 7 T birdcage is inherently inhomogeneous due to the effects of wavelengths on tissue. This work investigates the homogenization of this field through metasurfaces that consist of a two-dimensional planar array of capacitively loaded conducting rings. The metasurfaces are placed in the intermediate space between the head and the birdcage on either side of the head.

Spasticity evaluation with the Amadeo Tyromotion device in patients with hemispheric stroke.

Objective: The objective of this study is to verify the reliability and the concurrent and discriminant validity of the measurements of spasticity offered by the robotic device, quantifying the (1) test-retest reliability, (2) correlation with the clinical evaluation using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), (3) inter-rater reliability between the two physiotherapists, and (4) ability to discriminate between healthy and stroke patients.

Methods: A total of 20 stroke patients and 20 healthy volunteers participated in the study. Two physical therapists (PT1 and PT2) independently evaluated the hand spasticity of stroke subjects using the MAS.

An EEG database for the cognitive assessment of motor imagery during walking with a lower-limb exoskeleton.

One important point in the development of a brain-machine Interface (BMI) commanding an exoskeleton is the assessment of the cognitive engagement of the subject during the motor imagery tasks conducted. However, there are not many databases that provide electroencephalography (EEG) data during the use of a lower-limb exoskeleton. The current paper presents a database designed with an experimental protocol aiming to assess not only motor imagery during the control of the device, but also the attention to gait on flat and inclined surfaces.

A unified scheme for the benchmarking of upper limb functions in neurological disorders.

Background: In neurorehabilitation, we are witnessing a growing awareness of the importance of standardized quantitative assessment of limb functions. Detailed assessments of the sensorimotor deficits following neurological disorders are crucial. So far, this assessment has relied mainly on clinical scales, which showed several drawbacks.

Legged locomotion over irregular terrains: state of the art of human and robot performance.

Legged robotic technologies have moved out of the lab to operate in real environments, characterized by a wide variety of unpredictable irregularities and disturbances, all this in close proximity with humans. Demonstrating the ability of current robots to move robustly and reliably in these conditions is becoming essential to prove their safe operation. Here, we report an in-depth literature review aimed at verifying the existence of common or agreed protocols and metrics to test the performance of legged system in realistic environments.

Making Bipedal Robot Experiments Reproducible and Comparable: The Eurobench Software Approach.

This study describes the software methodology designed for systematic benchmarking of bipedal systems through the computation of performance indicators from data collected during an experimentation stage. Under the umbrella of the European project Eurobench, we collected approximately 30 protocols with related testbeds and scoring algorithms, aiming at characterizing the performances of humanoids, exoskeletons, and/or prosthesis under different conditions. The main challenge addressed in this study concerns the standardization of the scoring process to permit a systematic benchmark of the experiments.

Role of jejunoplasty in complex esophageal reconstruction.

Introduction: Esophageal reconstruction is a very complex surgical procedure, burdened by significant morbidity. Gastroplasty and coloplasty have classically been used. Free jejunal plasty has shown to be a very good option in the treatment of cervical esophagus pathology, but the role of supercharged jejunoplasty in thoracic esophagus reconstruction is still controversial.

Outcomes and survival of tracheostomised patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in a third level hospital.

Purpose: Analyse the evolution and outcomes of COVID-19 tracheostomised patients. Clarify if this cohort presents an increased risk of haemorrhagic complications and verify the correlation between some risk factors with increased mortality.

Methods: A retrospective single-centre observational study of a prospective cohort of all COVID-19 patients admitted to our centre between March and April 2020.

Void Content Minimization in Vacuum Infusion (VI) via Effective Degassing.

This paper addresses the major concern which component porosity represents in Vacuum Infusion (VI) manufacturing due to resin gelation at pressures close to absolute vacuum. Degassing is a fundamental step to minimize or even avoid resin outgassing and enhance dissolution of voids created during preform impregnation. The efficacy of different degassing procedures based on vacuum degassing, and assisted by adding a nucleation medium, High Speed (HS) resin stirring and/or later pressurization during different time intervals have been analyzed in terms of final void content is studied.

The potential role of imaging techniques in avoiding neck dissection during salvage surgery after head and neck carcinoma treated with bioradiotherapy.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of computed tomography and positron emission tomography-computed tomography prior to salvage surgery after head and neck carcinoma treated with bioradiotherapy and to look at the role of neck dissection in this setting.

Method: This study was a retrospective chart review of a series of consecutive patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with bioradiotherapy. Radiological and pathological stages were compared to evaluate the accuracy of computed tomography and positron emission tomography-computed tomography in detecting occult neck metastasis in the context of recurrence of primary tumour.

Dietary habits in patients with fibromyalgia: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To the scarce information on dietary habits in fibromyalgia (FM), it is added that there are no comparative studies with other rheumatic diseases. The objective of this study was to characterise the dietary habits of patients with FM by comparing, for the first time, with healthy controls (HC) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This cross-sectional, observational study was based on data obtained from the Dietfibrom project for FM and from the IMID Consortium for RA and HC.

Food groups associated with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: a Mendelian randomization and disease severity study.

Background/objectives: Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are prevalent diseases. There is, however, a lack of understanding of the link between diet and IMIDs, how much dietary patterns vary between them and if there are food groups associated with a worsening of the disease.

Subjects/methods: To answer these questions we analyzed a nation-wide cohort of n = 11,308 patients from six prevalent IMIDs and 2050 healthy controls.

Prefiltering based on experimental paradigm for analysis of fMRI complex brain networks.

Brain networks offers a new insight about connections between function and anatomical regions of human brain. We present results from brain networks built from functional magnetic resonance images during finger tapping paradigm. Pearson voxel-voxel correlation in time and frequency domains were performed for all subjects.

Haptic and Visual Feedback Assistance for Dual-Arm Robot Teleoperation in Surface Conditioning Tasks.

Contact driven tasks, such as surface conditioning operations (wiping, polishing, sanding, etc.), are difficult to program in advance to be performed autonomously by a robotic system, specially when the objects involved are moving. In many applications, human-robot physical interaction can be used for the teaching, specially in learning from demonstrations frameworks, but this solution is not always available.

A Combined Transcriptomic and Genomic Analysis Identifies a Gene Signature Associated With the Response to Anti-TNF Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most frequent autoimmune disease involving the joints. Although anti-TNF therapies have proven effective in the management of RA, approximately one third of patients do not show a significant clinical response. The objective of this study was to identify new genetic variation associated with the clinical response to anti-TNF therapy in RA.

Effectiveness of mental footnotes in the cognitive therapy for panic attack: two case-studies.

New findings in the area of experimental, cognitive psychology point out that the implicit meanings determine the information that is being processed. The so-called can even modify the path trajectory in a driving task. This influence has been proposed to go beyond this kind of task.

Genetic variation at the glycosaminoglycan metabolism pathway contributes to the risk of psoriatic arthritis but not psoriasis.

Objective: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis affecting up to 30% of patients with psoriasis (Ps). To date, most of the known risk loci for PsA are shared with Ps, and identifying disease-specific variation has proven very challenging. The objective of the present study was to identify genetic variation specific for PsA.