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Evaluation of Prosthetic and Orthotic Technologies using AI Technology
No full textBackground: Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used at all levels of education and career paths. In the healthcare field, biomechanical analysis is used to study human movement and evaluate the mobility and quality of life of individuals with certain interventions. An artificial intelligence system used to evaluate the health and mobility of individuals with a smartphone video is sit2stand.ai. This AI application provides sensor technologies at an inexpensive cost. Providing flexion time and trunk acceleration that is used in the modifications of prosthetics and orthotics to provided stability, ground reaction force, and injury risk to the user.
Methods: 10 patients were asked to participate in a research study of the evaluation of prosthetics and Orthotics. 5 individuals were lower limb amputees, and 5 individuals were ablebodied to evaluate the effects of the interventions on the individuals\u27 mobility and quality of life.
The patients were asked to sit in a stable chair and to cross their hands over their chest and sit -and-stand 10 times while being recorded. The videos were then uploaded to the AI application sit2stand.ai, and data was collected for graphical analysis.
Results: The results show flexion time and trunk acceleration after collected from the AI application sit2stand.ai. The graphical analysis showed the overall comparison of each individual that participated in the research and the usability of sit2stand.ai.
Conclusion: Results suggest that the AI application sit2stand.ai is an effective, accessible, user and clinically friendly at evaluating lower limb prosthesis.https://commons.stmarytx.edu/msrjs/1040/thumbnail.jp
“Transgender Insanity” and Scapegoating: President Donald Trump’s Political Rhetoric Regarding Transgender Americans
No full textWords are powerful. In an era where the words of political leaders evoke more attention than their policies, political rhetoric must be recognized for the powerful tool it is and its implications. The rhetoric of political leaders can greatly influence how a vulnerable community will be treated and viewed by society, with the choice language of the political leader signaling either inclusion or exclusion for the community. This study examines how President Donald Trump uses his political rhetoric to scapegoat the community of transgender Americans in the American political sphere. Limiting rhetorical media to speeches, interviews, remarks, rallies, and debates, transcribed by Roll Call, rhetoric mining is used to identify and analyze keywords, including “transgender”, “transitioned”, “sports”, “sex changes/operations”, “gender”, “hormone/puberty”, and “child sexual mutilation” to determine President Trump’s language pattern when referring to transgender Americans. Relying on J.L. Austin’s and John Searle’s speech act theory as a theoretical framework, this analysis explores how Trump’s political rhetoric functions as a performative act of scapegoating. With Excel being used to mine and analyze the repetition of the keywords, it is expected that the analysis will reveal that Trump’s performative act of scapegoating the transgender community can be seen through his purposeful stigmatizing language regarding transgender Americans, resulting in their political “otherness” and discrediting of their gender identity within the political sphere. Ultimately, this study seeks to raise awareness on how performative political rhetoric can contribute to the continued marginalization of vulnerable communities and emphasize the consequences of such rhetorical choices persisting.https://commons.stmarytx.edu/msrjs/1037/thumbnail.jp
Sanando La Herida Abierta: The Open-Borders Debate, Latinx Feminist Voices, and Spiritual Activism
No full textThis thesis addresses the current discourse in philosophy—specifically, immigration ethics—that harms migrants, would-be migrants, and Latinx people in general. It proposes that these harms can be healed by taking seriously the contributions of Latinx feminists and paying special attention to spiritual activism. The thesis first introduces the open-borders debate in the philosophical literature and the harmful language and framing that affects migrant autonomy within the debate, specifically by looking at the work of Christopher Heath Wellman as a representative example. It reveals how, while border enforcement often results in literal mass casualties among immigrants, the language and framing around immigration in works like Wellman’s itself does harm to migrants. Drawing on the works of Latinx feminist philosophers such as Mariana Ortega and Gloria Anzaldúa, the thesis shows that the dehumanization such discourse enacts constitutes a casualty insofar as it results in the “death” of a migrant’s autonomy to find their own identity. The solution to the casualty proposed in this thesis brings together the works of Anzaldúa and French feminist philosopher Simone Weil, which theorize the role of spirituality in social and political organizing through spiritual activism
Effects of PTK2 Knockdown on Key Cellular Processes in ES8 Cells
No full textEwing sarcoma is an aggressive form of pediatric cancer characterized by rapid growth and metastatic potential, with limited treatment options available. PTK2 is a key regulator of many pathways involved in tumor behavior, including integrin-mediated adhesion, survival, and migration. This research lab investigated how CRISPR-Cas9 knockdown of PTK2 can affect cellular processes in ES8 Ewing sarcoma cells. To assess the effectiveness of reducing PTK2 expression, we utilized live-cell imaging, wound-healing assays, measurements of caspase activity, colony formation, and qRT-PCR. Our results showed that incomplete knockdown decreased cell proliferation and colony formation, while also increasing apoptotic activity. Additionally, migratory ability was not reduced. Rather, the knockdown cells maintained normal-or even enhanced-wound closure rates, suggesting a compensatory mechanism to preserve motility. The findings indicate that though PTK2 is an important regulator of key survival pathways, Ewing sarcoma cells appear to rely on alternate pathways to preserve migration when PTK2 levels are diminished. Further research is needed to more accurately identify the mechanisms impacted by PTK2 inhibition.https://commons.stmarytx.edu/mecofdis/1004/thumbnail.jp