A review on magnetic and spintronic neurostimulation: challenges and prospects

In the treatment of neurodegenerative, sensory and cardiovascular diseases, electrical probes and arrays have shown quite a promising success rate. However, despite the outstanding clinical outcomes, their operation is significantly hindered by non-selective control of electric fields. A promising alternative is micromagnetic stimulation (μMS) due to the high permeability of magnetic field through biological tissues. The induced electric field from the time-varying magnetic field generated by magnetic neurostimulators is used to remotely stimulate neighboring neurons. Due to the spatial asymmetry of the induced electric field, high spatial selectivity of neurostimulation has been realized. Herein, some popular choices of magnetic neurostimulators such as microcoils (μcoils) and spintronic nanodevices are reviewed. The neurostimulator features such as power consumption and resolution (aiming at cellular level) are discussed. In addition, the chronic stability and biocompatibility of these implantable neurostimulator are commented in favor of further translation to clinical settings. Furthermore, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), as another invaluable neurostimulation material, has emerged in recent years. Thus, in this review we have also included MNPs as a remote neurostimulation solution that overcomes physical limitations of invasive implants. Overall, this review provides peers with the recent development of ultra-low power, cellular-level, spatially selective magnetic neurostimulators of dimensions within micro- to nano-range for treating chronic neurological disorders. At the end of this review, some potential applications of next generation neuro-devices have also been discussed.

The Influence of Angstrom-Scale Roughness on the Laser-Induced Damage Threshold of Single-Crystal ZnGeP2

Magnetorheological processing was applied to polish the working surfaces of single-crystal ZnGeP2, in which a non-aqueous liquid with the magnetic particles of carbonyl iron with the addition of nanodiamonds was used. Samples of a single-crystal ZnGeP2 with an Angstrom level of surface roughness were received. The use of magnetorheological polish allowed the more accurate characterization of the possible structural defects that emerged on the surface of a single crystal and had a size of ~0.5–1.5 μm. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) value at the indicated orders of magnitude of the surface roughness parameters was determined not by the quality of polishing, but by the number of point depressions caused by the physical limitations of the structural configuration of the crystal volume. These results are in good agreement with the assumption made about a significant effect of the concentration of dislocations in a ZnGeP2 crystal on LIDT.

Gambaran Activity Daily Living Pada Pasien Pasca Stroke Non Hemoragic Setelah Pemberian Propioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation : Literature Review

Stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or is blocked by a clot so that the brain does not get the blood it needs. Stroke affects physical limitations and disabilities in carrying out daily living activities. One of the rehabilitation interventions to increase daily living activities among them is propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Thisstudy aimed to describe the activity daily living in non-hemorrhagic post-stroke patients after propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation intervention. The selection of articles in the study usesthe PICO mnemonic. Searcharticles through the Indonesian Scientific Respirator Research, PubMed, GARUDA, and Google scholar with predetermined inclusion and exlusion criteria. The results show that propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation was proven in increase activity daily living in non-hemorrhagic post-stroke patients. The activity daily living was assessed using Barthel Index checklist. The average of Barthel Index before and after intervention were 42,493 and 75,372 respectively. The propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation has been shown to improve activity daily living in non-hemorrhagic post-stroke patients. Propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation can be a modality treatment to increase activity daily living in non-hemorrhagic post-stroke patients.Keywords: Activity Daily Living, Non-Hemorrhagic Post-Stroke, Propioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation AbstrakStroke terjadi ketika pembuluh darah yang mengangkut oksigen dan nutrisi menuju otak pecah atau terblokir oleh bekuan sehingga otak tidak mendapat darah yang dibutuhkan. Kejadian stroke memunculkan gangguan keterbatasan fisik dan kecacatan dalam melakukan activity daily living. Peran fisioterapi pada penderita stroke yaitu tindakan rehabilitasi yang dapat meningkatkan ADL salah satuya adalah propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gambaran activity daily living pada pasien pasca stroke non hemoragic dengan pemberian propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Pemilihan artikel pada penelitian ini menggunakan mnemonic PICO. Penelusuran artikel melalui Neliti Respiratori Ilmiah Indonesia, PubMed, Garuda-Garba rujukan digital dan Google scholar dengan kriteria inklusi dan ekslusi yang telah ditentukan. Hasil literature review kelima artikel menunjukkan bahwa PNF terbukti meningkatkan ADL pada pasien pasca stroke non hemoragic dengan hasil rata-rata peningkatan sebesar 32.879 dengan menggunakan alat ukur indeks barthel sebelum intervensi 42.493 dan sesudah intervensi 75.372. Hasil literature review kelima artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation terbukti dapat meningkatkan activity daily living pada pasien pasca stroke non hemoragic. Penetitian ini dapat digunakan sebagai dasar pengembangan praktisi fisioterapi pada masalah peningkatan activity daily living pada pasien pasca stroke non hemoragic dengan menggunakan latihan propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.Kata Kunci: Activity Daily Living, Propioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, Pasca Stroke

PELATIHAN FOTOGRAFI, VIDEOGRAFI DAN MENULIS BERITA DI MEDIA SOSIAL UNTUK PENYANDANG DISABILITAS DI ANNIKA LINDEN CENTRE

A B S T R A C T English translation. Today's growing digital world also affects the variety of types of work for disabilities. One of the prospective job opportunities for disabled people is freelance work. Freelance work for the disabled is available among others in the world of photography, design and writing such as photographers, news contributors / journalists, graphic design, copywriters, social media admins. These positions certainly require special skills so that disabilities can develop a career in the creative industry sector. If pursued, freelance work can be one of the career alternatives for disability. Many disabled colleagues have an interest in photography but are constrained by physical limitations and the availability of needed devices. Through a series of community service through training in the framework of disability day, want to introduce the world of photography and at the same time utilize the functionality of mobile phones so that it can be maximized by people with disabilities. Photography skills such as editing and other related abilities such as video editing will be useful for disabilities to lead a career into the creative world of photography. The world of photography and journalism are two things that are interrelated, writing becomes a skill mastered by people with disabilities as a writer. The need for journalistic training for disabilities becomes important as a starting point for disability recognizing interests in the field and further building a career in that field. A B S T R A K Dunia digital yang semakin berkembang saat ini turut mempengaruhi variasi jenis pekerjaan bagi disabilitas. Salah satu peluang pekerjaan yang prospektif bagi disabilitas adalah pekerjaan freelance. Pekerjaan freelance bagi disabilitas tersedia antara lain di dunia fotografi, desain dan penulisan contohnya profesi seperti fotografer, kontributor berita/jurnalis, desain grafis, copywriter, admin media sosial. Posisi-posisi tersebut tentunya mensyaratkan keterampilan khusus agar disabilitas dapat mengembangkan karir di sektor industri kreatif tersebut. Apabila ditekuni, pekerjaan freelance dapat menjadi salah satu alternatif karir untuk disabilitas.Banyak rekan disabilitas memiliki minat di dunia fotografi namun terkendala keterbatasan fisik maupun ketersediaan device yang dibutuhkan. Melalui serangkaian pengabdian kepada masyarakat melalui pelatihan dalam rangka hari disabilitas, ingin memperkenalkan dunia fotografi dan sekaligus memanfaatkan fungsionalitas ponsel agar dapat dimaksimalkan oleh penyandang disabilitas. Kemampuan fotografi seperti editing dan kemampuan terkait lainnya seperti video editing akan berguna bagi disabilitas untuk menuju karir ke dunia kreatif fotografi. Dunia fotografi dan jurnalistik adalah dua hal yang saling terkait, penulisan menjadi keahlian yang dikuasai oleh penyandang disabilitas sebagai penulis. Kebutuhan akan adanya pelatihan jurnalistik bagi disabilitas menjadi penting sebagai titik awal disabilitas mengenali minat di bidang tersebut dan untuk selanjutnya dapat membangun karir di bidang tersebut.

Impact of prescription isodose level and collimator selection on dose homogeneity and plan quality in robotic radiosurgery

Purpose In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), prescription isodoses and resulting dose homogeneities vary widely across different platforms and clinical entities. Our goal was to investigate the physical limitations of generating dose distributions with an intended level of homogeneity in robotic SRS. Methods Treatment plans for non-isocentric irradiation of 4 spherical phantom targets (volume 0.27–7.70 ml) and 4 clinical targets (volume 0.50–5.70 ml) were calculated using Sequential (phantom) or VOLOTM (clinical) optimizers (Accuray, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). Dose conformity, volume of 12 Gy isodose (V12Gy) as a measure for dose gradient, and treatment time were recorded for different prescribed isodose levels (PILs) and collimator settings. In addition, isocentric irradiation of phantom targets was examined, with dose homogeneity modified by using different collimator sizes. Results Dose conformity was generally high (nCI ≤ 1.25) and varied little with PIL. For all targets and collimator sets, V12Gy was highest for PIL ≥ 80% and lowest for PIL ≤ 65%. The impact of PIL on V12Gy was highest for isocentric irradiation and lowest for clinical targets (VOLOTM optimization). The variability of V12Gy as a function of collimator selection was significantly higher than that of PIL. V12Gy and treatment time were negatively correlated. Plans utilizing a single collimator with a diameter in the range of 70–80% of the target diameter were fastest, but showed the strongest dependence on PIL. Conclusion Inhomogeneous dose distributions with PIL ≤ 70% can be used to minimize dose to normal tissue. PIL ≥ 90% is associated with a marked and significant increase in off-target dose exposure. Careful selection of collimators during planning is even more important.

Disadvantaged Americans are suffering the brunt of rising pain and physical limitations

Using data from three national surveys of US adults (one cohort and two cross-sectional studies, covering the period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s), we quantify the degree to which disparities by socioeconomic status (SES) in self-reported pain and physical limitations widened and explore whether they widened more in midlife than in later life. Unlike most prior studies that use proxy measures of SES (e.g., education), we use a multidimensional measure of SES that enables us to evaluate changes over time in each outcome for fixed percentiles of the population, thereby avoiding the problem of lagged selection bias. Results across multiple datasets demonstrate that socioeconomic disparities in pain and physical limitations consistently widened since the late 1990s, and if anything, widened even more in midlife than in late life (above 75). For those aged 50–74, the SES disparities in most outcomes widened by more than 50% and in some cases, the SES gap more than doubled. In contrast, the magnitude of SES widening was much smaller above age 75 and, in the vast majority of cases, not significant. Pain prevalence increased at all levels of SES, but disadvantaged Americans suffered the largest increases. Physical function deteriorated for those with low SES, but there was little change and perhaps improvement among the most advantaged Americans. At the 10th percentile of SES, the predicted percentage with a physical limitation at age 50 increased by 6-10 points between the late-1990s and the 2010s, whereas at the 90th percentile of SES, there was no change in two surveys and in the third survey, the corresponding percentage declined from 31% in 1996–99 to 22% in 2016–18. The worst-off Americans are being left behind in a sea of pain and physical infirmity, which may have dire consequences for their quality of life and for society as a whole (e.g., lost productivity, public costs).

LEARNING NEW INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGIES USED IN COVID-19 TIMES

Currently, online or hybrid teaching are increasingly in demand and have been driven by social, demographic and health factors such as that experienced during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The traditional classroom as originally was conceived has expanded both its temporal and physical limitations. This text shows how new innovative methodologies have been developed through different applications such as Wooclap or Gamification works, with the main objective of checking the perception, motivation and satisfaction of students. These are useful tools for teachers to get an easy and fast feedback from students. Two hypotheses are also presented, which will be contrasted with the analysis of the grades of the final tests of the 2019/2020 academic year and several questionnaires, with a high response ratio (88.33%), but with a small sample (60 subjects), where it has been found that the students adapt to the methods previously exposed. The main conclusion is the following: students adapt to remote teaching, they get involved in the subject and spend time learning, they are motivated to use innovative techniques, they show interest and participation in them. Resumen En la actualidad la docencia online o híbrida están cada vez más solicitadas y se han visto impulsadas por factores sociales, demográficos y sanitarios como el vivido durante la pandemia mundial por el COVID-19. El aula tradicional como se concebía en origen ha expandido sus limitaciones tanto temporales como físicas. En este texto se expone cómo se han desarrollado nuevas metodologías innovadoras a través de diferentes aplicaciones como Wooclap o trabajos con Gamificación, con el objetivo fundamental de comprobar la percepción, motivación y satisfacción del alumnado. Herramientas útiles para los docentes por conseguir en el alumnado una retroalimentación fácil y rápida. Se exponen, además, dos hipótesis que serán contrastadas con el análisis de las calificaciones de las pruebas finales del curso académico 2019/2020 y varios cuestionarios, con una ratio de respuesta alto (88,33%), pero con una muestra pequeña (60 sujetos), donde se ha comprobado que el alumnado se adapta a los métodos expuestos previamente. La conclusión principal es la siguiente: los alumnos se adaptan a la docencia en remoto, se involucran en la asignatura y emplean tiempo en el aprendizaje, les motiva emplear técnicas innovadoras, muestran interés y participación en las mismas.

Self-Reported Physical Limitations Among U.S. Veterans Compared to Non-Veterans: Findings from NHANES

Approximately 43% of males over the age of 65 years are Veterans. Veterans may be at elevated risk for functional declines due to barriers to health care access leading to accelerated loss of independence. This compared the prevalence of functional limitations in Veterans and non-Veterans. Data from two National Health and Examination Survey collection periods, administered 2013-2014 and 2015-2016, were used to compare physical functioning data between male Veterans (N=369) and non-Veterans (N=738) matched 1:2 for sex, race, and BMI. Individuals were considered a Veteran if they self-reported having “served in active duty in the U.S. Armed forces.” Pearson’s chi-square tests were used to assess differences in the prevalence of various self-reported functional limitations between groups. Veterans (mean±SEM: age: 64.5±0.54 years; BMI: 30.0±0.3 kg/m2) were disproportionately affected by self-reported functional limitations caused by long-term physical, mental, or emotional illnesses (8% vs. 3%, p<0.004). Twenty-five % of Veterans reported that these limitations kept them from working compared to 18% of non-Veterans (p<0.003). Veterans (38%) were also more likely to report being limited in the amount of work they could perform compared to non-Veterans (27%) (p<0.01). Additionally, Veterans (20%) were more likely to report the use of special healthcare equipment (i.e. cane, wheelchair) than non-Veterans (12%) (p<0.001). These data suggest that Veterans are at greater risk for functional limitations caused by self-reported long-term physical, mental or emotional illness. Therefore, further research is needed to determine if home- and community-based services could prevent further functional decline, ultimately allowing Veterans to maintain independence.

Experiences of living with developmental dysplasia of the hip in adults not eligible for surgical treatment: a qualitative study

ObjectivesAdults with developmental dysplasia of the hip face barriers in their everyday lives due to pain and physical limitations. In Denmark, some patients may not be eligible for hip-preserving surgery due to being overweight, hip osteoarthritis, age above 45 years, negative impingement test or not wishing to undergo surgery. These patients are left with no evidence-based treatment option. The patient perspective when not being eligible for surgery has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to explore the experiences of living with developmental dysplasia of the hip in adults not eligible for hip-preserving surgery.Design and participantsIn this qualitative study, we used a phenomenological–hermeneutic approach to explore the experiences of living with developmental dysplasia of the hip. We conducted semistructured interviews with 17 purposefully selected patients (median age 37 (range 19–50) years). The patients were recruited from a population of 30 patients included in a larger feasibility study evaluating a 6-month exercise and patient education intervention. We used a ricoeur-inspired method to analyse and interpret the interview data.ResultsThree themes were identified. First, developmental dysplasia of the hip is more than just a joint disease. Second, living with pain is difficult when pain has its own life. Third, limitations imposed by hip problems challenge the perception of oneself as young, active and independent. Identity, meaningfulness, control over pain and coping with pain were areas of the patients’ lives that were influenced.ConclusionLiving with developmental dysplasia of the hip had a considerable impact on the patients of this study and their everyday life in several areas. Therefore, it may be relevant to approach patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip from a biopsychosocial point of view. However, further research is required to obtain a better understanding of the experiences of living with developmental dysplasia of the hip.

A Design of Nonlinear Scaling and Nonlinear Optimal Motion Cueing Algorithm for Pilot's Station

Motion cueing algorithms (MCA) are often applied in the motion simulators. In this paper, a nonlinear optimal MCA, taking into account translational and rotational motions of a simulator within its physical limitation, is designed for the motion platform aiming to minimize human’s perception error in order to provide a high degree of fidelity. Indeed, the movement sensation center of most MCA is placed at the center of the upper platform, which may cause a certain error. Pilot’s station should be paid full attention to in the MCA. Apart from this, the scaling and limiting module plays an important role in optimizing the motion platform workspace and reducing false cues during motion reproduction. It should be used along within the washout filter to decrease the amplitude of the translational and rotational motion signals uniformly across all frequencies through the MCA. A nonlinear scaling method is designed to accurately duplicate motions with high realistic behavior and use the platform more efficiently without violating its physical limitations. The simulation experiment is verified in the longitudinal/pitch direction for motion simulator. The result implies that the proposed method can not only overcome the problem of the workspace limitations in the simulator motion reproduction and improve the realism of movement sensation, but also reduce the false cues to improve dynamic fidelity during the motion simulation process.