A dual-channel electrical stimulation system with a stimulator and a programmer/stride analyzer was designed for clinical rehabilitation of gait and for subsequent daily use as an orthotic aid. The stimulator, with controls to adjust amplitude only (50 mA), adapts chosen stimulation sequences to the walking rate of a patient. Pulse duration (50-500 microseconds), frequency (5-120 Hz), shape (symmetrical biphasic, monophasic), stimulation sequences (16 stride segments) and their cycle (2-12 sec), and right/left foot-switch choices are selected for each patient and programmed into a separate unit. The programming unit also statistically processes the foot-switch data collected by the stimulator. The device was evaluated with regard to the programmable parameters, effectiveness during gait, and feasibility in clinical use. It was applied to 11 stroke patients and 10 brain injury patients during gait, stimulating 22 combinations of peroneal nerve and hamstring, quadriceps, triceps brachii, and gluteus maximus muscles. Forces on both feet, equinovarus, knee extension and hyperextension, elbow flexion, and hip extension were corrected. Selection of the stimulation sequences, their adaptation, range of pulse duration, and valid statistics were verified. Improved forces and joint angles were recorded together with significant changes in the stride time, length, and velocity by the stimulation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/jrrd.1992.10.0041 | DOI Listing |
Sci Adv
January 2025
Division of Regenerative Medicine, Hartman Institute for Therapeutic Organ Regeneration, Ansary Stem Cell Institute, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Tissue-specific endothelial cells (ECs) are critical for the homeostasis of pancreatic islets and most other tissues. In vitro recapitulation of islet biology and therapeutic islet transplantation both require adequate vascularization, which remains a challenge. Using human reprogrammed vascular ECs (R-VECs), human islets were functionally vascularized in vitro, demonstrating responsive, dynamic glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and Ca influx.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElife
January 2025
Department of Anesthesia, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
The inferior colliculus (IC) has traditionally been regarded as an important relay in the auditory pathway, primarily involved in relaying auditory information from the brainstem to the thalamus. However, this study uncovers the multifaceted role of the IC in bridging auditory processing, sensory prediction, and reward prediction. Through extracellular recordings in monkeys engaged in a sound duration-based deviation detection task, we observed a 'climbing effect' in neuronal firing rates, indicative of an enhanced response over sound sequences linked to sensory prediction rather than reward anticipation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Immunol
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China.
Background: Shell and pearl formation in bivalves is a sophisticated biomineralization process that encompasses immunological and mineralization aspects, particularly during shell repair and the initial stages of pearl cultivation when a nucleus is inserted. Here, we describe a novel C-type lectin, HcLec1, isolated and characterized from the freshwater pearl mussel Lea.
Methods: Immune challenge, RNA interference (RNAi) experiments, ELISA, and antibacterial assays were employed to investigate the role of HcLec1 in innate immunity.
Drug Des Devel Ther
January 2025
Department of Dermatology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, Clinical Medical Research Center of Major Skin Diseases and Skin Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
Background: Psoriasis is an immune-related inflammatory systemic condition characterized by dysregulated keratinocyte proliferation and chronic inflammation. Tanshinone I (Tan-I) has recently been discovered to have immunomodulatory properties, but its role and mechanisms in treating psoriasis remain unclear.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Tan-I in the treatment of psoriasis and to determine the mechanisms involved.
BMC Biol
January 2025
The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.
Background: The microbiome regulates the respiratory epithelium's immunomodulatory functions. To explore how the microbiome's biodiversity affects microbe-epithelial interactions, we screened 58 phylogenetically diverse microbes for their transcriptomic effect on human primary bronchial air-liquid interface (ALI) cell cultures.
Results: We found distinct species- and strain-level differences in host innate immunity and epithelial barrier response.
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