scholarly journals On the way home: a BCI-FES hand therapy self-managed by sub-acute SCI participants and their caregivers: a usability study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Zulauf-Czaja ◽  
Manaf K. H. Al-Taleb ◽  
Mariel Purcell ◽  
Nina Petric-Gray ◽  
Jennifer Cloughley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Wrist Flexion ◽  
Hand Therapy ◽  
The People ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Set Up

Abstract Background Regaining hand function is the top priority for people with tetraplegia, however access to specialised therapy outwith clinics is limited. Here we present a system for hand therapy based on brain-computer interface (BCI) which uses a consumer grade electroencephalography (EEG) device combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES), and evaluate its usability among occupational therapists (OTs) and people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their family members. Methods Users: Eight people with sub-acute SCI (6 M, 2F, age 55.4 ± 15.6) and their caregivers (3 M, 5F, age 45.3 ± 14.3); four OTs (4F, age 42.3 ± 9.8). User Activity: Researchers trained OTs; OTs subsequently taught caregivers to set up the system for the people with SCI to perform hand therapy. Hand therapy consisted of attempted movement (AM) of one hand to lower the power of EEG sensory-motor rhythm in the 8-12 Hz band and thereby activate FES which induced wrist flexion and extension. Technology: Consumer grade wearable EEG, multichannel FES, custom made BCI application. Location: Research space within hospital. Evaluation: donning times, BCI accuracy, BCI and FES parameter repeatability, questionnaires, focus groups and interviews. Results Effectiveness: The BCI accuracy was 70–90%. Efficiency: Median donning times decreased from 40.5 min for initial session to 27 min during last training session (N = 7), dropping to 14 min on the last self-managed session (N = 3). BCI and FES parameters were stable from session to session. Satisfaction: Mean satisfaction with the system among SCI users and caregivers was 3.68 ± 0.81 (max 5) as measured by QUEST questionnaire. Main facilitators for implementing BCI-FES technology were “seeing hand moving”, “doing something useful for the loved ones”, good level of computer literacy (people with SCI and caregivers), “active engagement in therapy” (OT), while main barriers were technical complexity of setup (all groups) and “lack of clinical evidence” (OT). Conclusion BCI-FES has potential to be used as at home hand therapy by people with SCI or stroke, provided it is easy to use and support is provided. Transfer of knowledge of operating BCI is possible from researchers to therapists to users and caregivers. Trial registration Registered with NHS GG&C on December 6th 2017; clinicaltrials.gov reference number NCT03257982, url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03257982.

The War of US against ISIS in Psychological Warfare and Internet as the New Frontline

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Urtak Hamiti
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Barack Obama ◽  
Good News ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Media Center ◽  
The People ◽  
Psychological Warfare ◽  
The Media ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Hearts And Minds

Barbaric, savage, horrific-these were terms to define the decision of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to murder its captured Jordanian pilot by burning him alive inspired a thesaurus of horror and revulsion. The men who did it, the perpetrators were described by the media as mad men, thugs, monsters. To most of the people, the act itself seemed inexplicable and without sense. However, behind the choreographed and videotaped violence lies a calculated horrible cold logic. Although, ISIS is often portrait as a mighty force on the ground in Syria and Iraq, facts state that they control mainly communications between various provinces in both countries, and, as most guerrilla armies, are militarily weak by conventional measure. ISIS has little or almost none defense against the bombing campaign that is facing now, while US has formed a coalition that is confronting them on the ground as well, after President Barack Obama published the “New Security Doctrine” which includes degrading and finally destroying ISIS. ISIS, however, have proven to be very organized in promoting dramatic acts of violence against their enemies and promoting them two achieve two goals: use terror tactics as a psychological weapon against all those facing them and all those that are to face them in combat. Secondly, through usage of social network platforms to promote killings and executions, the aim of ISIS is to encourage recruits from out of Syria and Iraq, and elsewhere, to join them in their cause. Online operations of ISIS fall under a production group called the Al Hayat Media Center. The Center was created to seduce Westerners into joining the ranks of ISIS and also to distribute propaganda through social and media platforms. It is difficult to assess the success of this operation, but solid sources provided by US military and intelligence estimate that at least 300 Americans are fighting in the ranks of ISIS (at least two Americans have been killed fighting for ISIS in Iraq/Syria region) while the number of Europeans is in thousands. The US Response to this psychological kind of warfare came when President Barack Obama established the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) aiming to combat terrorist propaganda. The main strategy of CSCC is not directly to confront ISIS operatives, but rather than that to deal with the people they are trying to recruit. Now, with almost entire international public opinion on their side, it is time for US to more actively respond to ISIS especially in the manner of psychological warfare since it is obvious that operations of “winning hearts and minds” of people in Iraq and Syria are not enough compared to ruthless tactics of ISIS which “winning hearts and minds” by brute force, terror, and vivid violent images. The online propaganda war is a new component to conflicts of 21st century that allows enemies to reach one another’s home fronts directly. ISIS might seem not so strong on the ground but it has captured one fundamental flaw of the media of 21st century-the one that bad news is always good news and that televised violence will always have an audience. ISIS has proclaimed that its goal is to create a caliphate of 21st century but its psychological warfare and propaganda is inspiring individuals throughout the West to commit horrible terrorist crimes. Could this be another mind game set up by ISIS, it remains to be seen. However one thing is for certain, US and its allies must tackle ISIS not only by planes and other military means, but also by a strategy that would eliminate its influence in spreading their propaganda.

A custom-made neoprene thumb carpometacarpal orthosis with thermoplastic stabilization: An orthosis that promotes function and improvement in patients with the first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monireh Ahmadi Bani ◽  
Mokhtar Arazpour ◽  
Stephen William Hutchins ◽  
Fereydoun Layeghi ◽  
Mahmood Bahramizadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grip Strength ◽  
Clinical Relevance ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Pinch Strength ◽  
Conservative Approach ◽  
Carpometacarpal Joint ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
First Carpometacarpal Joint ◽  
Thumb Carpometacarpal ◽  
Improved Function

Background and aim: Patients with mild to moderate first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis report pain, a reduction in pinch and grip strength and hand function. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of a custom-made neoprene thumb carpometacarpal orthosis with thermoplastic stabilization on pain, function, grip strength, and key pinch in these patients. Technique: A total of 11 volunteer patients participated in this study. All the above-mentioned parameters were evaluated at baseline and also 30, 60, and 90 days after using the splint. Discussion: A decrease in pain was observed after 30 days, and this continued to improve during treatment with the splint. After 90 days of using the splint, grip strength was improved. Function and pinch strength also increased significantly and was maintained during the study period compared to baseline. Clinical relevance A custom-made neoprene thumb carpometacarpal orthosis with thermoplastic stabilization may be a suitable conservative approach for the treatment of first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis.

scholarly journals Improvement of hand functions of spinal cord injury patients with electromyography-driven hand exoskeleton: A feasibility study

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngmok Yun ◽  
Youngjin Na ◽  
Paria Esmatloo ◽  
Sarah Dancausse ◽  
Alfredo Serrato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Finger Movements ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Hand Exoskeleton

Abstract We have developed a one-of-a-kind hand exoskeleton, called Maestro, which can power finger movements of those surviving severe disabilities to complete daily tasks using compliant joints. In this paper, we present results from an electromyography (EMG) control strategy conducted with spinal cord injury (SCI) patients (C5, C6, and C7) in which the subjects completed daily tasks controlling Maestro with EMG signals from their forearm muscles. With its compliant actuation and its degrees of freedom that match the natural finger movements, Maestro is capable of helping the subjects grasp and manipulate a variety of daily objects (more than 15 from a standardized set). To generate control commands for Maestro, an artificial neural network algorithm was implemented along with a probabilistic control approach to classify and deliver four hand poses robustly with three EMG signals measured from the forearm and palm. Increase in the scores of a standardized test, called the Sollerman hand function test, and enhancement in different aspects of grasping such as strength shows feasibility that Maestro can be capable of improving the hand function of SCI subjects.

Traumatic Brachial Plexus Palsy in Children: Long-Term Outcome and Strategy of Reconstruction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek A. El-Gammal ◽  
Amr El-Sayed ◽  
Mohamed M. Kotb ◽  
Waleed Riad Saleh ◽  
Yasser Farouk Ragheb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
External Rotation ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Functional Restoration ◽  
Shoulder Abduction ◽  
Wrist Flexion ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Age At Surgery ◽  
Flexion And Extension

Abstract Background Traumatic brachial plexus injuries in children represent a definite spectrum of injuries between adult and neonatal brachial plexus injuries. Their characteristics have been scarcely reported in the literature. The priority of functional restoration is not clear. Materials and Methods In total, 52 children with surgically treated traumatic brachial plexus injuries, excluding Erb's palsy, were reviewed after a minimum follow-up of 2 years. All children except nine were males, with an average age at surgery of 8 years. Forty-five children had exclusive supraclavicular plexus injuries. Twenty-one of them (46%) had two or more root avulsions. Seven children (13.5%) had infraclavicular plexus injuries. Time from trauma to surgery varied from 1 to 15 months (mean = 4.7 months). Extraplexal neurotization was the most common surgical technique used. Results Shoulder abduction and external rotation were restored to an average of 83 and 26 degrees, respectively. Elbow flexion and extension were restored to grade ≥3 in 96 and 91.5% of cases, respectively. Finger flexion and extension were restored to grade ≥4 in 29 and 32% of cases, respectively. Wrist flexion and extension were restored to grade ≥4 in 21 and 27% of cases, respectively. Results of neurotization were superior to those of neurolysis and nerve grafting. Among the 24 children with insensate hands, 20 (83.3%) recovered S3 sensation, 3 recovered S2, and 1 recovered S1. No case complained of neuropathic pain. Functional recovery correlated negatively but insignificantly with the age at surgery and time from injury to surgery. Conclusion Brachial plexus injuries in children are associated with a high incidence root avulsions and no pain. Neurotization is frequently required and the outcome is not significantly affected by the delay in surgery. In total plexus injuries, some useful hand function can be restored, and management should follow that of obstetric palsy and be focused on innervating the medial cord.

People’s Movement in Odisha: An Assessment

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-283
Author(s):  
Subhendu Ranjan Raj
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
The State ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up

Development process in Odisha (before 2011 Orissa) may have led to progress but has also resulted in large-scale dispossession of land, homesteads, forests and also denial of livelihood and human rights. In Odisha as the requirements of development increase, the arena of contestation between the state/corporate entities and the people has correspondingly multiplied because the paradigm of contemporary model of growth is not sustainable and leads to irreparable ecological/environmental costs. It has engendered many people’s movements. Struggles in rural Odisha have increasingly focused on proactively stopping of projects, mining, forcible land, forest and water acquisition fallouts from government/corporate sector. Contemporaneously, such people’s movements are happening in Kashipur, Kalinga Nagar, Jagatsinghpur, Lanjigarh, etc. They have not gained much success in achieving their objectives. However, the people’s movement of Baliapal in Odisha is acknowledged as a success. It stopped the central and state governments from bulldozing resistance to set up a National Missile Testing Range in an agriculturally rich area in the mid-1980s by displacing some lakhs of people of their land, homesteads, agricultural production, forests and entitlements. A sustained struggle for 12 years against the state by using Gandhian methods of peaceful civil disobedience movement ultimately won and the government was forced to abandon its project. As uneven growth strategies sharpen, the threats to people’s human rights, natural resources, ecology and subsistence are deepening. Peaceful and non-violent protest movements like Baliapal may be emulated in the years ahead.

A critical reappraisal of corticospinal tract somatotopy and its role in traumatic cervical spinal cord syndromes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Allan D. Levi ◽  
Jan M. Schwab
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Upper Extremity ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Central Cord Syndrome

The corticospinal tract (CST) is the preeminent voluntary motor pathway that controls human movements. Consequently, long-standing interest has focused on CST location and function in order to understand both loss and recovery of neurological function after incomplete cervical spinal cord injury, such as traumatic central cord syndrome. The hallmark clinical finding is paresis of the hands and upper-extremity function with retention of lower-extremity movements, which has been attributed to injury and the sparing of specific CST fibers. In contrast to historical concepts that proposed somatotopic (laminar) CST organization, the current narrative summarizes the accumulated evidence that 1) there is no somatotopic organization of the corticospinal tract within the spinal cord in humans and 2) the CST is critically important for hand function. The evidence includes data from 1) tract-tracing studies of the central nervous system and in vivo MRI studies of both humans and nonhuman primates, 2) selective ablative studies of the CST in primates, 3) evolutionary assessments of the CST in mammals, and 4) neuropathological examinations of patients after incomplete cervical spinal cord injury involving the CST and prominent arm and hand dysfunction. Acute traumatic central cord syndrome is characterized by prominent upper-extremity dysfunction, which has been falsely predicated on pinpoint injury to an assumed CST layer that specifically innervates the hand muscles. Given the evidence surveyed herein, the pathophysiological mechanism is most likely related to diffuse injury to the CST that plays a critically important role in hand function.

Continuity of care for drug users in prison and beyond: A qualitative insight

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282110489
Author(s):  
Heino Stöver ◽  
Daniela Jamin ◽  
Marie Jauffret-Roustide ◽  
Laurent Michel ◽  
Vânia Mendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Continuity Of Care ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
The People ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Opioid Users

Social work in prisons is linked to specific tasks regarding the care for the people who are incarcerated. A multi-country qualitative study was set up to explore drug users’ and professionals’ perceptions of continuity of care in prison and beyond. It has been pointed out that continuity of care is associated with different barriers, especially regarding social work. Nevertheless, good practice examples do exist and could be implemented by social workers. Social workers and opioid users face challenges in the context of imprisonment, so different measures need to be implemented to support opioid users and for social workers to support them.

Optimization and evaluation of a blue light photoinitiating system for textile inkjet printing

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (10) ◽  
pp. 1964-1974
Author(s):  
Yi Huang ◽  
Guangdong Sun ◽  
Yating Ji ◽  
Dapeng Li ◽  
Qinguo Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blue Light ◽  
Light Emitting Diode ◽  
Absorption Efficiency ◽  
Polymerization Rate ◽  
Nozzle Clogging ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Light Curing ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Pigment Ink

A blue light curing process was developed to solve the nozzle clogging challenge commonly encountered in conventional textile pigment printing, by using camphorquinone (CQ) and ethyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate (EDMAB) as a photoinitiator combination and substituting oligomers and monomers for a polymeric binder. High light absorption efficiency was insured by closely matching the spectrum of the photoinitiator with a custom-made blue light light-emitting diode set-up. Kinetic analyses of such a CQ/EDMAB system indicated that the maximum polymerization rate of the monomer was proportional to [PI]0.5 and [I0]0.5, while excessive high photoinitiator concentration (>1 wt%) will decrease the polymerization rate because of the “filter effect.” With optimized blue light curable pigment ink formula and irradiation conditions, the photocurable pigment printed fabrics exhibited uniform and vibrant colors, clear outlines, and excellent wet and dry rubbing fastness of grades 4 and 4–5, respectively.

scholarly journals Resistencia y apropiación de la escuela: estrategias político-educativas del sindicato magisterial mexicano / Resistance and appropriation of the school: political-educational strategies of the Mexican teachers’ union

2020 ◽  
pp. 44-55
Author(s):  
Alberto Colin Huizar
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Educational Strategies ◽  
National Education ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Teachers Union ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Ethnographic Methodology

En distintos estados de la república mexicana existen proyectos educativos colectivos que en mayor o menor medida se erigen en las aulas de las escuelas públicas de nivel básico fomentando la vinculación comunitaria, el trabajo basado en la colectividad y el impulso de la participación activa de los sujetos educativos. El sentido político y epistémico de los proyectos educativos locales a contracorriente de la educación oficial nacional, se acompaña de los proyectos que persiguen los pueblos y agrupaciones magisteriales, mediante la construcción de sus propios saberes y experiencias a partir de las cuales despliegan estrategias para la apropiación social de la escuela. Dichas alternativas escolares conforman un emergente escenario de acción colectiva donde diversas expresiones de la Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación sintetizan sus proyectos político-educativos. Este artículo se propone revisar desde una metodología etnográfica de las interacciones en el ámbito escolar, cómo dichas iniciativas se implementan en el territorio educativo y cuáles son los principales desafíos en la compleja tarea de resistir al modelo convencional de la escuela del Estado para ponerla al servicio de las luchas magisteriales y populares. Los hallazgos de estas experiencias de educación alternativa constituyen insumos significativos para repensar la forma en que distintos actores sociales recuperan el espacio escolar para alimentar sus propios proyectos de sociedad y transformación sociopolítica que enarbolan a partir de su praxis en el campo educativo. ABSTRACT In different states of the Mexican Republic there are collective educational projects that, to a greater or lesser extent, are set up in public school classrooms at the basic level, promoting community involvement, work based on collectivity and the promotion of active participation by educational subjects. The political and epistemic meaning of local educational projects that go against the grain of official national education is accompanied by the projects pursued by the people and teachers’ groups, through the construction of their own knowledge and experiences from which they deploy strategies for the social appropriation of the school. These school alternatives form an emerging scenario of collective action where diverse expressions of the National Coordinator of Education Workers synthesize their political-educational projects. This article proposes to review, from an ethnographic methodology, the interactions in the school environment, how these initiatives are implemented in the educational territory and what are the main challenges in the complex task of resisting the conventional model of the state school in order to put it at the service of the teachers’ and popular struggles. The findings of these experiences of alternative education constitute significant inputs for rethinking the way in which different social actors recover the school space to feed their own projects of society a

scholarly journals A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF CLEAN ENERGY IN INDIA: A TARGET 2022

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1069-1076
Author(s):  
Ashish Singhal, Et. al.
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
State Government ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Energy Aspects

The extenuation of non-conventional global energy demands and changing environments is one of the most important ingredients in recent days. A case is about the study of sun energy acquired as clean energy by the government of India (GOI). GOI announced the various schemes for solar energy (SE) in the last decades because of the tremendous growth of solar energy aspects for the non-conventional sources with the support of central and state government. This article covered the progress of solar energy in India with major achievements. In this review article, the authors are trying to show the targets of the government of India (GOI) by 2022 and his vintage battle to set up a plant of solar or clean energy in India. This paper also emphasizes the different policies of GOI to schooling the people for creating the jobs in different projects like “Make in India”. This paper projected the work of the dynamic Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi and his bravura performance to increase the targets 100 GW solar energy by 2022.

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