Various robotic exoskeletons have been proposed for hand function assistance during activities of daily living (ADL) of stroke survivors. However, traditional exoskeletons involve the use of complex ...rigid systems that impede the natural movement of joints, and thus reduce the wearability and cause discomfort to the user. The objective of this paper is to design and evaluate a soft robotic glove that is able to provide hand function assistance using fabric-reinforced soft pneumatic actuators. These actuators are made of silicone rubber which has an elastic modulus similar to human tissues. Thus, they are intrinsically soft and compliant. Upon air pressurization, they are able to support finger range of motion (ROM) and generate the desired actuation of the finger joints. In this work, the soft actuators were characterized in terms of their blocked tip force, normal and frictional grip force outputs. Combining the soft actuators and flexible textile materials, a soft robotic glove was developed for grasping assistance during ADL for stroke survivors. The glove was evaluated on five healthy participants for its assisted ROM and grip strength. Pilot test was performed in two stroke survivors to evaluate the efficacy of the glove in assisting functional grasping activities. Our results demonstrated that the actuators designed in this study could generate desired force output at a low air pressure. The glove had a high kinematic transparency and did not affect the active ROM of the finger joints when it was being worn by the participants. With the assistance of the glove, the participants were able to perform grasping actions with sufficient assisted ROM and grip strength, without any voluntary effort. Additionally, pilot test on stroke survivors demonstrated that the patient's grasping performance improved with the presence and assistance of the glove. Patient feedback questionnaires also showed high level of patient satisfaction and comfort. In conclusion, this paper has demonstrated the possibility of using soft wearable exoskeletons that are more wearable, lightweight, and suitable to be used on a daily basis for hand function assistance of stroke survivors during activities of daily living.
Background and Aims
Animal models of human disease are a key component of translational hepatology research, yet there is no consensus on which model is optimal for NAFLD.
Approach and Results
We ...generated a database of 3,920 rodent models of NAFLD. Study designs were highly heterogeneous, and therefore, few models had been cited more than once. Analysis of genetic models supported the current evidence for the role of adipose dysfunction and suggested a role for innate immunity in the progression of NAFLD. We identified that high‐fat, high‐fructose diets most closely recapitulate the human phenotype of NAFLD. There was substantial variability in the nomenclature of animal models: a consensus on terminology of specialist diets is needed. More broadly, this analysis demonstrates the variability in preclinical study design, which has wider implications for the reproducibility of in vivo experiments both in the field of hepatology and beyond.
Conclusions
This systematic analysis provides a framework for phenotypic assessment of NAFLD models and highlights the need for increased standardization and replication.
In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and evaluation of a soft wearable robotic glove, which can be used with functional Magnetic Resonance imaging (fMRI) during the hand rehabilitation ...and task specific training. The soft wearable robotic glove, called MR-Glove, consists of two major components: a) a set of soft pneumatic actuators and b) a glove. The soft pneumatic actuators, which are made of silicone elastomers, generate bending motion and actuate finger joints upon pressurization. The device is MR-compatible as it contains no ferromagnetic materials and operates pneumatically. Our results show that the device did not cause artifacts to fMRI images during hand rehabilitation and task-specific exercises. This study demonstrated the possibility of using fMRI and MR-compatible soft wearable robotic device to study brain activities and motor performances during hand rehabilitation, and to unravel the functional effects of rehabilitation robotics on brain stimulation.
This letter presents a fully fabric-based bidirectional soft robotic glove designed to assist hand impaired patients in rehabilitation exercises and performing activities of daily living. The glove ...provides both active finger flexion and extension for hand assistance and rehabilitative training, through its embedded fabric-based actuators that are fabricated by heat press and ultrasonic welding of flexible thermoplastic polyurethane-coated fabrics. Compared to previous developed elastomeric-based actuators, the actuators are able to achieve smaller bend radius and generate sufficient force and torque to assist in both finger flexion and extension at lower air pressure. In this letter, experiments were conducted to characterize the performances of the glove in terms of its kinematic and grip strength assistances on five healthy participants. Additionally, we present a graphical-user interface that allows user to choose the desired rehabilitation exercises and control modes, which include button-controlled-assistive mode, cyclic movement training, intention-driven task-specific training, and bilateral rehabilitation training.
Resistance to anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-targeted therapy in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer has been reported, with the majority of acquired resistance mechanisms relying on bypass ...signaling. To proactively identify resistance mechanisms in ALK-positive neuroblastoma (NB), we herein employ genome-wide CRISPR activation screens of NB cell lines treated with brigatinib or ceritinib, identifying PIM1 as a putative resistance gene, whose high expression is associated with high-risk disease and poor survival. Knockdown of PIM1 sensitizes cells of differing MYCN status to ALK inhibitors, and in patient-derived xenografts of high-risk NB harboring ALK mutations, the combination of the ALK inhibitor ceritinib and PIM1 inhibitor AZD1208 shows significantly enhanced anti-tumor efficacy relative to single agents. These data confirm that PIM1 overexpression decreases sensitivity to ALK inhibitors in NB, and suggests that combined front-line inhibition of ALK and PIM1 is a viable strategy for the treatment of ALK-positive NB independent of MYCN status.
The objective of this study is to determine the stimulus that influences customer's revisit intention to the ethnic restaurant through customer-positive emotion and customer satisfaction. A total of ...388 completed surveys were obtained from customers who have visited ethnic restaurants that served foreign ethnic food, which was used for analysis and hypothesis testing with Smart PLS. Findings indicated that food, service, and ambiance qualities; facility aesthetic; spatial layout, and perceived authenticity and price have positive effects on customer-positive emotion toward ethnic restaurants. Customer satisfaction was also found to have a mediating effect between customer-positive emotions and revisit intention. In the restaurant context, the Mehrabian-Russell Model (M-R) was extended and validated the causal relationship in which all the stimulus variables positively affect the organism, which directly influences response. This contributes to the consumer behavior knowledge on the significant stimulus variables that could enhance customer-positive emotions and revisit intention to an ethnic restaurant. For restaurant operator and managers, this finding helps to draft and build effective marketing strategies to encourage the customer to revisit their restaurant.
Cardiovascular disease and its concurrent risk factors are prevalent after liver transplant (LT). Most of these risk factors are modifiable by diet. We aimed to synthesise the literature reporting ...the nutritional intake of liver transplant recipients (LTR) and the potential determinants of intake. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses of studies published up until July 2021 reporting the nutritional intake of LTR. The pooled daily mean intakes were recorded as 1998 (95% CI 1889, 2108) kcal, 17 (17, 18)% energy from protein, 49 (48, 51)% energy from carbohydrates, 34 (33, 35)% energy from total fat, 10 (7, 13)% energy from saturated fat, and 20 (18, 21) g of fibre. The average fruit and vegetable intake ranged from 105 to 418 g/day. The length of time post-LT and the age and sex of the cohorts, as well as the continent and year of publication of each study, were sources of heterogeneity. Nine studies investigated the potential determinants of intake, time post-LT, gender and immunosuppression medication, with inconclusive results. Energy and protein requirements were not met in the first month post-transplant. After this point, energy intake was significantly higher and remained stable over time, with a high fat intake and low intake of fibre, fruits and vegetables. This suggests that LTR consume a high-energy, low-quality diet in the long term and do not adhere to the dietary guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Provides further evidence to support the argument put forth by the authors of the related article in relation to overprescribing of antibiotics for infective conjunctivitis, but presents a different ...perspective on GPs’ antibiotic prescribing habits. Relays a response from the original authors. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
The classical drug development pipeline necessitates studies using animal models of human disease to gauge future efficacy in humans, however there is a low conversion rate from success in animals to ...humans. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex chronic disease without any established therapies and a major field of animal research. We performed a meta-analysis with meta-regression of 603 interventional rodent studies (10,364 animals) in NAFLD to assess which variables influenced treatment response. Weight loss and alleviation of insulin resistance were consistently associated with improvement in NAFLD. Multiple drug classes that do not affect weight in humans caused weight loss in animals. Other study design variables, such as age of animals and dietary composition, influenced the magnitude of treatment effect. Publication bias may have increased effect estimates by 37-79%. These findings help to explain the challenge of reproducibility and translation within the field of metabolism.
Background:
Preparation of del-Nido cardioplegia and its delivery technique can cause significant hemodilution. The resultant effects from hemodilution are largely proportionate to the use of a dual ...circuit. We opted for a custom-disposable single cardioplegia circuit instead of a dual circuit.
Methods:
We describe an alternative technique of del-Nido cardioplegia delivery and initial clinical experience with it at National University Hospital, Singapore. This is a retrospective analysis of data from January 2017 to April 2019, comprising of 177 patients of heart surgery and reflecting a single center database survey under the National Health Care Group.
Results:
Of the 177 patients who underwent surgery with del-Nido cardioplegia, 76 (42.9%) were valve-only procedures and 5 (2.8%) were coronary artery bypass graft–only procedures. Ultrafiltration was utilized in 132 (62.6%) patients, whereas filtrate volume was 2200 150-9500 mL. The alternative technique of del-Nido cardioplegia delivery adopted by National University Hospital advocates for a single pump, single circuit system. The retrospective institutional data highlighted safe delivery of del-Nido cardioplegia using this technique in a range of procedures.
Conclusion:
Besides the safe delivery of del-Nido cardioplegia, the National University Hospital Technique reduces hemodilution and provides other technical benefits including a steeper temperature gradient, modification of circuit configuration to deliver another cardioplegia while on bypass, as well as re-configuration of clamps to spike the base solution.
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