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Practices and perceptions in hamstring training for injury risk mitigation: A survey-based mixed-methods analysis
Full text linkIn this study, the practices and perceptions of sport and exercise practitioners regarding hamstring training for injury risk mitigation were investigated. Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) remain a prevalent issue across sports, despite extensive research. An anonymous survey was conducted to assess how practitioners integrate evidence-based strategies, such as the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) and high-speed running (HSR), into their training programmes. The survey included both fixed-response and open-ended questions, enabling a mixed-methods analysis of training approaches. A total of 47 practitioners responded, revealing that most incorporate the NHE and HSR into both in-season and off-season training. However, there were notable differences in volume, with higher HSR distances and NHE volumes programmed in the off-season. Despite widespread adoption of the NHE, practitioners indicated that the volumes of NHE used are still likely higher than the smallest effective dosages reported in the literature. Thematic analyses highlighted several key challenges practitioners face, including athlete compliance with training programmes, multi-disciplinary team coordination, and time limitations. Practitioners emphasised the importance of exposing athletes to maximal running efforts to reduce HSI risk, while also integrating strength training exercises that target the hamstrings. The study serves to highlight a need for further improvements in communication among teams and better athlete education which could enhance the effectiveness of hamstring training programmes. Additionally, the findings of the current study indicate a need for future studies that explore the combined effects of resistance training and HSR, as well as how scientific recommendations can be more effectively implemented in practical settings
IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF FES FOR UPPER LIMB REHABILITATION AFTER STROKE
No full textResearch shows high-intensity, functional electrical stimulation (FES)-supported functional task practice is effective for upper limb rehabilitation, promoting neuroplasticity (Rushton, 2003) and improving motor recovery, especially when combined with voluntary effort (Howlett et al., 2015; Sa-e et al., 2020).FES-UPP is a flexible upper limb (UL) FES system, allowing practice of functional tasks with tailored stimulation levels and voluntary-movement triggered FES (Sun, 2014). However, the FES-UPP system is limited:-Setup takes approximately 45 minutes (Smith et al., 2019), due, in part, to challenges in manually identifying accurate electrode positions for the desired movement.-It cannot automatically compensate for fatigue, requiring frequent manual adjustments by therapists (Waring K, 2020).The PhD aimed to:-Develop an improved electrode positioning method and-Develop an adaptive controller which would automatically adjust stimulation levels as the patient fatiguedAn experiment was conducted to test a new method for quickly finding optimal electrode positions, with the aim of speeding up UL FES setup times. The proposed method was effective for three out of ten participants for wrist extension, and 5 out of 10 for finger extension. However, position sensitivity varied for all other subjects, so further work is needed.A fatigue experiment was conducted to characterise FES-related fatigue in healthy participants. Results showed repeatable fatigue rates for the reach forward movement (70 repeats led to a 40% decrease in movement, 100 repeats led to an 80% decrease) in six out of ten subjects, but were inconclusive for all participants for the wrist extension movement. Lastly, an adaptive control algorithm was developed to reduce time-consuming stimulation adjustments for fatigue compensation while still encouraging voluntary effort. A method to simulate fatigue effects was developed and implemented. The algorithm performed well in pilot testing with one healthy participant. Key contributions to the field were as follows:-Simple heuristic methods were proposed to identify the optimal electrode positions which elicit two commonly used, but difficult to isolate, movements. Further work is needed to evaluate these methods in stroke survivors.-An adaptive controller suitable for use with a state-machine controlled FES system, such as FES-UPP was proposed. The controller performed well in testing with a single healthy subject.In conclusion, the work has shown the potential to use an adaptive controller to regulate electrical stimulation support over repeated cycles, while still encouraging the patient to attempt to use their own voluntary effort. Future research should assess the algorithm's performance with stroke survivors
Modelling and analysis of glucocorticoid action in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
No full textAcute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is characterised by the abnormal proliferation of whiteblood cells. Glucocorticoids (GCs) induce apoptosis in leukaemia through the glucocorticoidreceptor (GR) and are the main treatment for ALL. The obstacle to achieving ALL remissionis resistance to GCs, highlighting the need to uncover the causes of the therapy resistance.Previous use of systems biology led to the construction of a logical model, GR interactomenamed GEB052 which consisted of 52 nodes and 241 interactions, where nodes representedgenes or proteins that interact with GR. The model was linked to GC input and celldeath/inflammation outputs and was used to predict how components can react with each otherto induce physiological functions, disease mechanisms, and drug responses.Towards improved models’ predictive capacity, here microRNAs (miRs), which are key factorsof gene regulation, were added to the model. Target scan and DIANA tools were used toidentify miRs that target proteins in the GEB052 model, after literature-based validation. 26miRs were added to the GEB052 model, Cytoscape was used to visualise and CellNetAnalyzerto analyse the model. A new model named GAO078 which has 78 nodes with 274 interactionswas built. All miRs added had an inhibitory effect on the target nodes. In silico knockdown ofGR that mimics mutation, and logical steady state analysis (LSSA) was conducted in both wild-type GR and mutant (miRs ON and OFF) scenarios. This demonstrated that the correctprediction rate obtained through model stimulation was 65.7% in GAO078 (when the miRs areOFF) that is higher than in GEB052 model (56.6%). Additional analysis (semi-quantitativeSignal Transduction Score Flow Algorithm -STSFA) resulted in a high correct prediction(80%) compared to LSSA. Model also predicted that ARHGAP35, NR2F2 and STAT5B geneshave an inhibitory effect on GR, and through DRUGSURV database tyrosine kinase inhibitor(TKI) dasatinib (DAS), that is an approved drug targeting STAT5B, was identified and used totreat leukaemia cells through the lab-based experiments to validate GAO078 modelpredictions.Cell viability assays were used to test synthetic glucocorticoid Dexamethasone (DEX) andDAS effects on CEM-C7-14, CEM-C1-15, MOLT-4 and SUP-B15 ALL cell lines. The dataobtained using MTS assay indicated that DEX was effective in reducing the viability of CEM-C7-14 but not CEM-C1-15 and to a lesser extent MOLT-4 and SUP-B15. DAS inhibitedproliferation of ALL cells to varying extent, and the two medications used together had a largerinhibitory effect on cell death in some cell lines studied. Measurement of Sub-G1 and apoptosisrates suggested that in CEM-C7-14 cells most cell death is due to DEX-induced apoptosis,14whereas in other cell lines alternative cell death pathways may be employed. Therefore, modelpredictions that inhibiting STAT5B using DAS should increase GR activity have been partiallyvalidated and uncovered cell-specific effects of such treatment. Furthermore, this investigationindicated the potential benefits of treating GC-resistant leukaemia with DAS.To investigate microenvironment effects and cell death pathways, conditioned media (CM)from bone marrow cell line was used. CM treatment showed an inhibitory trend on Sub-G1and apoptosis in most cell lines. Studies of cell death markers revealed a complex pattern whenBIM, RIPK1 and LC3 protein levels were analysed in ALL cell lines treated with DEX, DAS,and their combination, with CM showed an inhibitory trend in these proteins’ expression.Quantitative Real-time-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was then used to study the GR and BIM geneexpression. DEX treatment resulted in increased GR expression in CEM-C7-14 and SUP-B15whereas a decrease was observed in CEM-C1-15 and MOLT-4. The BIM gene was expressedmore in all DEX-treated cell lines except in MOLT-4 cells which exhibited a low expressionpattern.Another prediction from the model identified several miRs that feature frequently in the modeland have clinical significance. Preliminary experiments using qRT-PCR assay demonstratedthat after DEX treatment, the expression of miR-27a and miR-9 was highly upregulated in GC-resistant CEM-C1-15, and the expression of miR-20a was also high in MOLT-4. CM and SEVscaused the substantial increase in miR-27 and miR-9 expression in CEM-C1-15 cells, whereasthe high expression in miR-20a was observed in SUP-B15 cells, suggesting a potentialmechanism for increased resistance. The findings of this study highlight the significance ofcomprehending the complex relationships among GR signalling, the tumour microenvironment(TME), and miRs in order to design efficacious ALL therapies
Adversarial attacks on artificial Intelligence of Things-based operational technologies in theme parks
Full text linkTheme parks represent a popular, yet vulnerable aspect of life, where large unsuspecting crowds gather and interact with technology. Artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming theme parks by revolutionizing various aspects. This research study is the first to identify critical components of theme parks that can be optimized, and comprehensively maps them onto emerging AI/IoT applications, often powered by machine learning or deep learning models. Additionally, the study sheds light on adversarial attacks targeting vulnerable smart surveillance systems, which generate a very large volume of video stream data. These systems serve as a prominent example of AIoT-based operational technologies (AIoT-OT) responsible for critical alerts and actions. Rigorous experimentation, involving a novel hybrid multi-pixel deception attack technique, demonstrates that advanced adversarial attack methods can significantly degrade the performance of detection systems. The performance metrics and attack success rate were measured by accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and AUC score. Before attack, the accuracy rates of 87. 45%, 83. 17% and 81. 40% were achieved for the EfficientNet, ResNet and MobileNet models, respectively. However, after applying the proposed MPD attack, the performance of each model declined significantly. The accuracy dropped to 61.23% for EfficientNet (with an attack success rate of 29.10%), 59.12% for ResNet (with success rate of 30.20%), and 55.17% for MobileNet (with success rate of 32.50%). This study signifies the need for a strategic plan of action and the development of robust methods for the proactive security of AIoT in theme parks
Mapping current research relating to family and partners of people with chronic kidney disease (kidney carers): A scoping review
Full text linkObjective: The objectives of this scoping review are to identify the extent, type and outcomes (including intervention and innovations) in current research relating to people who support those with chronic kidney disease (kidney carers).Introduction: Carers, often family members, partners or friends, provide fundamental support to people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although research on carers is growing, it often focuses on specific treatment groups (e.g., haemodialysis, transplant) rather than across the CKD pathway thereby limiting comparisons between groups and identification of trends and gaps in carer research.Inclusion criteria: Participants will be informal carers (i.e., family members, partners, friends) of people with CKD (Stage 3-5, all treatment groups including adult and paediatrics). The concept is empirical evidence, including qualitative, quantitative studies and systematic/scoping reviews, that report outcomes, interventions, innovations or experiences of kidney carers. The context is broadly set to allow the exploration of research patterns across countries and service provision.Methods: This scoping review follows methodological framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley [1] and in line with the PRISMA scoping review guidelines [2]. The search strategy will be created with an academic librarian and optimised for each database (CINAHL, Medline, Web of science, Proquest Health & Medicine). Citations will be uploaded to Covidence and screened (title and abstract then full text) by the research team following eligibility criteria. Data will be extracted by three members of the research team and checked for accuracy by another member of the team. Data extracted will inform the research objectives.Keywords: caregivers; chronic renal insufficiency; end stage renal disease; research desig
The Impact of a Neurocollaborative Theraplay® Informed Intervention on the Presentations of Developmental Trauma and Attachment Difficulties in Adopted Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: An Extended Case Study
Full text linkThe UK incident rate of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in looked after populations is estimated to be 27%. The vast majority of these children enter care due to experiences synonymous with the prodromal stages of developmental trauma and all of them experience some form of attachment disruption. The intersection between developmental trauma, attachment disruptions, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), and FASD is an emerging and complex research area however there are currently no evidence based interventions specifically designed for young people with both FASD and early life trauma. Therefore, the purpose of this extended case study is to explore the impact of a novel, practice-based, neurocollaborative Theraplay®-informed intervention on the presentations of developmental trauma and attachment difficulties in adopted children with PAE. The study was based in a specialist trauma and attachment service based in the North of England. A total 16 families engaged in a therapeutic intervention based on the principles of Theraplay, sensory interventions, and Dyadic Developmental Parenting. Outcomes were measured on the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC), the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function, and the Assessment Checklist for Children. The TSCYC Depression subscale demonstrated a significant difference following therapy with a further three TSCYC scales approaching significance. Clinically meaningful change was also demonstrated for several participants across the outcome measures. Implications and limitations are discussed. It is hoped that this study can provide proof of concept for interventions targeting pre- and post-natal adversities such as PAE and developmental trauma
AeroGlan: A Smart and Sustainable Plant Species Estimator For Organic And Localized Air Filtering
No full textIntroduction: Human health is significantly compromised by air pollution, especially by local air quality. The majority of our society spends their lives in a confined geographical location, which if subjected to air pollution can expose them to long-term air contamination. It is also possible that poor air quality can pose serious health risks, especially to susceptible individuals thereby impacting their lifestyle. Air quality can be improved with appropriate plantation, but they are underutilized. Various air purification devices have been developed in response to the everincreasing air pollution level. Method: However, artificial means of air purification are not very viable in terms of cost, accessibility to society, and reliable tools to purify air. This research integrates traditional solutions with modern technology to counter air purification by selectively using plant species and placing them in desired locations suitable for urban settings. The study aims to measure the constituents of various air pollutants spanning across regions to identify and accumulate pollution data using IoTbased smart devices, remit, and feed this information to cloud-based storage for further processing. In addition, advanced predictive intelligence is utilized to determine the plant species that can suffice the need for air purification through organic means in a given geographical zone resulting in enhancement of Air Quality (AQ), with minimal cost, prolonged shelf life, future proof and non-detrimental consequences. Results: Implementation outcome gives a promising outcome. Accurate readings of various air pollutants are aggregated. Suitable trees are identified to tackle these pollutants and their absorbing capacity is determined. Various predictive methods are employed and the random forest model recorded the best results. The sensory units of the model successfully captured the pollutant data and any major fluctuations were reported. The prediction pipeline recorded a mean precision, recall, and f-score value of about 0.95, 0.92, and 0.94 respectively while the mean accuracy of 0.965 was also noted. The observed training and validation accuracy with our model were 0.96 and 0.93 respectively. Conclusion: Hence, the proposed ‘AeroGlan’ model may be locally applied as an air pollutants monitoring device and also to suggest suitable plant species required to counter air contamination in that locality
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and the Courts: How England and Wales Could Benefit From Following an Australian Model
No full textFoetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a set of symptoms and signs that may follow from exposure of the unborn child to alcohol during pregnancy. Characterised by cognitive and behavioural impairments, one secondary outcome from FASD, is encounters with the criminal justice system (CJS). In some countries, for example, England and Wales, it seems likely that many cases are missed at this point and, thus, courts are at risk of making unsafe judgements. We could learn a lot from countries where services are generally more used to dealing with FASD. Australia is one such country
Understanding greenspace attachment across the life-course: the role of personal history in establishing spatial meaning amongst older people in the Netherlands
Full text linkIntroduction: Greenspaces facilitate bonds between people and place and may hold meaning in improving health and wellbeing. Studies indicate that contact with nature can promote health, but the evidence relies on cross-sectional study designs and lacks studies incorporating a life-course perspective. Understanding greenspace attachment across a lifetime may hold meaning in improving lifelong health and wellbeing. It remains unclear how and why people, independent of their life-stage, develop and maintain an attachment to greenspace. Methods: This exploratory study explores the role of personal experiences and memories in developing and nurturing greenspace attachment across a lifetime, focusing on older adults' personal histories. Semi-structured, oral history focused interviews (n = 20) were conducted in 2019 with residents living in Breda and Tilburg (the Netherlands). Results: The findings suggest that significant personal experiences helped participants to form attachments to various types of greenspaces regardless of their life stage and greenspace typology. The childhood life phase is a crucial phase for participants to develop greenspace attachment and their attachment varies through their lifetime. Everyday greenery is perceived as an essential part to their local environment and assists in maintaining attachments and restoration. Discussion: Understanding the creation and fostering of greenspace attachment can inform urban planning initiatives, streetscape design, and greenspace management to prioritise the design and planning of multifunctional, intergenerational, and inclusive greenspaces that cater to the needs, interests, and values for people across all age groups
Zero-Shot Low-Light Image Enhancement Via Joint Frequency Domain Priors Guided Diffusion
Full text linkDue to the singularity of real-world paired datasets and the complexity of low-light environments, this leads to supervised methods lacking a degree of scene generalisation. Meanwhile, limited by poor lighting and content guidance, existing zero-shot methods cannot handle unknown severe degradation well. To address this problem, we will propose a new zero-shot low-light enhancement method to compensate for the lack of light and structural information in the diffusion sampling process by effectively combining the wavelet and Fourier frequency domains to construct rich a priori information. The key to the inspiration comes from the similarity between the wavelet and Fourier frequency domains: both light and structure information are closely related to specific frequency domain regions, respectively. Therefore, by transferring the diffusion process to the wavelet low-frequency domain and combining the wavelet and Fourier frequency domains by continuously decomposing them in the inverse process, the constructed rich illumination prior is utilised to guide the image generation enhancement process. Sufficient experiments show that the framework is robust and effective in various scenarios. The code will be available at: https://github.com/hejh8/Joint-Wavelet-and-Fourier-priors-guided-diffusion
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