Biomechanical analysis of grip strength in upper limb rehabilitation

This research is based on biomechanics as a science that involves concepts of engineering, mechanics, physic, anatomy, physiology, and many others, to study the human body with the desire to solve certain problems that may affect the performance of an individual in their work or personal level. This work is an investigative process in these areas of scientific and applied disciplines, in which the attention is focused on the hand as a valuable tool for the occupational performance of the human being, since through it is possible to touch, move, grasp, or manipulate objects. Injuries to this limb may be due to various causes, which require complex surgeries and long periods of rehabilitation to be reversed. This research highlights the importance of certain physical concepts that must be understood by the rehabilitation expert in order not to affect the surgery and thus guarantee the maximum functionality of the patient at the end of the recovery cycle.

Integration of dual fluidized bed steam gasification into the pulp and paper industry

The pulp and paper industry represents an industry sector which is characterised by its already high degree of sustainability. Biomass is a renewable input material, and typically highly developed recovery cycles minimise the loss of chemicals used in the pulping process. However, certain parts of the recovery cycle are still operated on fossil fuels. This study deals with the substitution of the fossil-based gaseous fuel with product gas from biomass gasification.Gasification experiments have shown that bark available at pulp and paper mills is suitable to produce a product gas via dual fluidised bed steam gasification as a promising substitute for natural gas. Based on the comparison of process layouts regarding the separation of non-process elements, separation efficiency is derived for different setups. To ensure operational security of the chemical recovery cycle, comprehensive gas cleaning including heat exchangers, a particle filter, and a liquid scrubber unit is advised. The gas flow of fuel gas into the gas burner is increased as the heating value of the product gas is accordingly lower in comparison to natural gas. Furthermore, adaptions of the gas burner might be necessary to address the earlier ignition of the H2-rich product gas compared to natural gas.

Analysis Of The Influence Of Alcohol-Induced Stress On The Quantitative And Qualitative Composition Of Amino Acids Related To S-Adenosylmethionine And Glutathione Transformations

Studies of preparations that decrease oxidative stress and, as a consequence, that can prevent or reduce the development of alcoholic liver disease are relevant. A wide range of drugs, the bioprotective effect of which is studied, in its action is associated with natural antioxidant systems. Therefore, the study of the features of these systems is necessary for the effective development of bio protectors. The aim is to analyze changes in the quantitative and qualitative composition of amino acids involved in antioxidant mechanisms in the presence of alcohol-induced stress in rats. In the presence of alcohol-induced oxidative stress, there are changes in the quantitative and qualitative composition of amino acids (methionine, serine, taurine), which are involved in the mechanisms of antioxidant protection - cycles of S-adenosylmethionine and glutathione. A slight increase in methionine levels in the blood serum of animals of the experimental group and disruption of the recovery cycle of methionine under alcohol-induced oxidative stress are arguments for the ineffectiveness of S-adenosylmethionine as a bioprotective substance. The same decrease in the level of serine (by 15%) and taurine (by 13%), and analysis of literature data, may be indicate the "secondary" nature of glutathione as an antioxidant compared to taurine.

Design and Research of Wrist-Assisted Recovery Robot Hand

With the gradual development of the times, people’s material life has been greatly improved. All kinds of sports have become an indispensable part of people’s life, but sports are always accompanied by certain risks. People injured by sports show an increasing trend every year. However, it can be found that among many rehabilitation instruments, there is not much research on wrist rehabilitation instruments, which leads to the restoration of bandage splint or plaster fixation in most of the time. These traditional methods have the problems of slow recovery cycle, difficult disassembly and complex replacement. At the same time, most of the wrist rehabilitation instruments that have been developed are large and medium-sized instruments, which can not be carried, can not play a real-time protective role, and can not be well applied to daily life. Therefore, a wearable periodic recovery robot with traditional strap splint, modern transmission and flexible positioning is proposed.

Effect of Intermittent High Frequency Stimulation on Muscle Velocity Recovery Cycle Recordings

The technique of multi-fiber muscle velocity recovery cycle recordings was developed as a diagnostic tool to assess muscle membrane potential changes and ion channel function in vivo. This study was undertaken to assess the impact of intermittent high frequency stimulation on muscle velocity recovery cycle components, and to study whether the changes can be modified by endurance training. We recorded muscle velocity recovery cycles with 1 and 2 conditioning stimuli in the left tibialis anterior muscle in 15 healthy subjects during intermittent 37 Hz stimulation and analyzed its effects on the different phases of supernormality. Recordings were conducted before and after two weeks endurance training. Training effect was assessed by measuring the difference in endurance time, peak force and limb circumference. Muscle velocity recovery cycle recordings during intermittent high frequency stimulation were successfully recorded in 12 subjects. Supernormality for interstimulus intervals shorter than 15 ms (early supernormality) was maximally reduced at the beginning of repetitive stimulation and recovered during stimulation. Supernormality for interstimulus intervals between 50 and 150 ms (late supernormality) showed a delayed decrease and stayed significantly reduced after high frequency stimulation. Training had no significant effect on any of the measured parameters, but we found that training induced changes in peak force correlated positively with baseline changes of early supernormality. Our results support the hypothesis that early supernormality represents membrane potential, which depolarizes in the beginning of high frequency stimulation. Late supernormality probably reflects transverse tubular function and shows progressive changes during high frequency stimulation with delayed normalization.

Effects of Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation on Trigeminal Blink Reflex Excitability

Recent evidence indicates that transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) modulates sensorimotor cortex excitability. However, no study has assessed possible TUS effects on the excitability of deeper brain areas, such as the brainstem. In this study, we investigated whether TUS delivered on the substantia nigra, superior colliculus, and nucleus raphe magnus modulates the excitability of trigeminal blink reflex, a reliable neurophysiological technique to assess brainstem functions in humans. The recovery cycle of the trigeminal blink reflex (interstimulus intervals of 250 and 500 ms) was tested before (T0), and 3 (T1) and 30 min (T2) after TUS. The effects of substantia nigra-TUS, superior colliculus-TUS, nucleus raphe magnus-TUS and sham-TUS were assessed in separate and randomized sessions. In the superior colliculus-TUS session, the conditioned R2 area increased at T1 compared with T0, while T2 and T0 values did not differ. Results were independent of the interstimulus intervals tested and were not related to trigeminal blink reflex baseline (T0) excitability. Conversely, the conditioned R2 area was comparable at T0, T1, and T2 in the nucleus raphe magnus-TUS and substantia nigra-TUS sessions. Our findings demonstrate that the excitability of brainstem circuits, as evaluated by testing the recovery cycle of the trigeminal blink reflex, can be increased by TUS. This result may reflect the modulation of inhibitory interneurons within the superior colliculus.

SedCas_Volcano: Simulating decadal patterns of lahar hazard and sediment transfer following volcanic disturbance in the Belham River Valley, Montserrat

<p>Explosive volcanic eruptions are among the most significant natural disturbances to landscapes on Earth. The widespread and rapid influx of pyroclastic sediment, together with subsequent changes to topography and vegetation cover, drives markedly heightened runoff responses to rainfall and increased downstream water and sediment fluxes; principally by way of hazardous lahars. The nature and probability of lahar occurrence under given rainfall conditions evolves as the landscape responds and subsequently recovers following the disturbance. The relationship between varying sediment supply, rainfall patterns, vegetation cover and lahar activity is complex, and impedes forecasting efforts made in the interest of hazard and land use management. Thus, developing an improved understanding of how these systems evolve in response to volcanic eruptions is of high importance.</p><p>Here we present SedCas_Volcano[MOU1] , a conceptual sediment cascade model, designed to simulate the first-order trends, such as magnitude-frequency distributions or seasonal patterns, in lahar activity and sediment transport. We use the Belham River Valley, Montserrat, as a case study. This small (~15km<sup>2</sup>) catchment has been repeatedly disturbed by five phases of volcanic activity at the Soufrière Hills Volcano since 1995. The multi-phase nature of this eruption, together with the varying nature and magnitude of disturbances throughout the eruption, has driven a complex disturbance-recovery cycle, which is further compounded by inter-annual climatic variations (e.g. ENSO). Lahars have occurred frequently in response to rainfall in the Belham River Valley, and their occurrence has evolved through the repeated disturbance-recovery cycle. This activity has resulted in significant net valley floor aggradation and widening, consequent burial and destruction of buildings and infrastructure, as well as coastal aggradation of up to ~250m. Within SedCas_Volcano, we account for evolving sediment supply, vegetation cover and rainfall, to simulate the lahar activity and channel change observed in the Belham River Valley since January 2001. Following this, we test the model under different hypothetical eruptive scenarios. [MOU2] Our goal is to assess the efficacy of such models for reproducing patterns of lahar activity and geomorphic change in river systems that are repeatedly disturbed by volcanic activity.</p>