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Individuals with incomplete spinal-cord injury/disease are at an increased risk of falling due to their impaired ability to maintain balance. Our research group has developed a closed-loop visual-feedback balance training (VFBT) system coupled with functional electrical stimulation (FES) for rehabilitation of standing balance (FES + VFBT system); however, clinical usage of this system is limited by the use of force plates, which are expensive and not easily accessible. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of a more affordable and accessible sensor such as a depth camera or pressure mat in place of the force plate. Ten able-bodied participants (7 males, 3 females) performed three sets of four different standing balance exercises using the FES + VFBT system with the force plate. A depth camera and pressure mat collected centre of mass and centre of pressure data passively, respectively. The depth camera showed higher Pearson's correlation ( r  > 98) and lower root mean squared error (RMSE < 10 mm) than the pressure mat ( r  > 0.82; RMSE < 4.5 mm) when compared with the force plate overall. Stimulation based on the depth camera showed lower RMSE than that based on the pressure mat relative to the FES + VFBT system. The depth camera shows potential as a replacement sensor to the force plate for providing feedback to the FES + VFBT system.

Individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) often fall due to decreased sensorimotor integration. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) therapy combined with visual feedback balance training (VFBT), termed FES+VFBT, can effectively improve standing balance in iSCI populations. Although promising, the need for force plates (FP), which are expensive and bulky, limits the translation of these methods to clinical and home settings. In this work, we propose a solution by replacing FP with Wii Balance Board (WBB), allowing for more accessible FES+VFBT at a lower cost in both clinical and community settings. Our investigations on ten non-injured participants reveal that WBB-based estimated center of mass (COM) has low prediction error and high correlation in both anteroposterior (RMSE: 4.13 ± 0.69 mm, r : 0.94 ± 0.02) and mediolateral directions (RMSE: 6.25 ± 1.80 mm, r : 0.92 ± 0.04) with ground FP-estimated COM, resulting in similar stimulation patterns obtained with the WBB-based approach, indicating that the WBB-based FES+VFBT system could yield a more accessible therapeutic strategy for balance rehabilitation in iSCI.

Individuals with spinal-cord injuries (SCI) are at an increased risk of falling due to their impaired ability to maintain balance. Our research group has developed a closed-loop visual-feedback training (VFT) system coupled with functional electrical stimulation (FES) for rehabilitation of standing balance (FES+VFT system); however, clinical usage of this system is limited by its use of force plates, which are expensive, cumbersome, and not easily accessible. For my thesis project, I 1) evaluated the validity of alternative sensors to the force plate for assessing postural balance and 2) developed and evaluated an updated FES+VFT system which uses the best alternative determined for real-time postural feedback. A clinically feasible version of the FES+VFT using the depth camera was developed and tested with ten able-bodied participants. The results of this research contribute to a more accessible standing balance rehabilitation system for individuals with incomplete SCI.

It is demonstrated that fluorescence enhancing nanostructures can be designed using a classical electromagnetics approach. A classical model of a molecule capable of absorbing and re-radiating one quantum of energy is presented and demonstrated to work in FDTD, the finite-difference in the time domain computational solution of Maxwell's Equations. Bohr's Correspondence Principle is satisfied by this model in the sense that the molecule's classical radiation decay lifetime behaves exactly as the quantum mechanical radiative transition rate in the presence of nearby dielectric boundaries. The so-called photonic mode density effect that enhances fluorescence in the presence of Surface Plasmon Resonant (SPR) boundaries has its direct analog in the modification of the classical molecule's radiation resistance. Fluorescence enhancement is then shown to be an impedance matching problem, where enhancing radiation from a molecule is equivalent to increasing its radiation resistance. A comparison is made between fluorescence enhancing nanostructures including metal nanorods, nanodisks and the metal symmetrical folded dipole using FDTD simulations that incorporate dispersive materials in its update equations. In order to demonstrate the radiation enhancement capabilities of the symmetric folded dipole, experimental measurement were performed by scaling a molecule and the symmetrical folded dipole to RF frequencies. Experimental results are then compared to computational results. The results indicate that the symmetrical folded dipole is a suitable candidate for the enhancement of fluorescence at optical frequencies.

During an earthquake, shaking can cause loose packed, water- saturated sediments, such as sand or mud to turn into a fluid mass. This is known as liquefaction. When this happens, the sediments lose their strength and can no longer fully support structures which may lean or settle. Much of Richmond is newer construction, built to meet the requirements of the National Building Code of Canada. This code has, since 1953, included earthquake-resistant standards, including provisions for construction on softer soil. Take comfort in the fact that Richmond has been around for over 5,000 years and has successfully weathered countless earthquakes. M9 A rare great earthquake, major damage over a large region over 1,000 km. (Chile 1960, Alaska 1964, west coast of B.C., Washington and Oregon 1700)

In May 2019, we investigated monkeypox in a traveler from Nigeria to Singapore. The public health response included rapid identification of contacts, use of quarantine, and postexposure smallpox vaccination. No secondary cases were identified. Countries should develop surveillance systems to detect emerging infectious diseases globally.

DBA results from genetic mutations affecting ribosomal protein synthesis, leading to the apoptosis of erythroid progenitor cells. DBA is associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations, growth deficiency, and malignancies, including acute myelogenous leukaemia and solid tumours. Mutations of the RPL15 gene may result in hydrops fetalis, intrauterine growth restriction, and anaemia at birth, indicating a possible distinct genotype-phenotype association within DBA (appendix).

Epileptogenic triggers are multifactorial and not well understood. Here we aimed to address the hypothesis that inappropriate pro-inflammatory mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis of refractory epilepsy (non-responsiveness to antiepileptic drugs) in human patients. We used single-cell cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq) to reveal the immunotranscriptome of surgically resected epileptic lesion tissues. Our approach uncovered a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, including extensive activation of microglia and infiltration of other pro-inflammatory immune cells. These findings were supported by ligand–receptor (LR) interactome analysis, which demonstrated potential mechanisms of infiltration and evidence of direct physical interactions between microglia and T cells. Together, these data provide insight into the immune microenvironment in epileptic tissue, which may aid the development of new therapeutics.Single-cell analysis of immune cells from surgically resected human epileptic brain tissues showed heterogeneity and pro-inflammatory signaling in microglia and evidence for direct interaction of microglia with T cells.

The Notch pathway is a conserved cell-cell communication pathway that controls cell fate decisions. Here we sought to determine how Notch pathway activation inhibits the neuroendocrine cell fate in the lungs, an archetypal process for cell fate decisions orchestrated by Notch signaling that has remained poorly understood at the molecular level. Using intratumoral heterogeneity in small-cell lung cancer as a tractable model system, we uncovered a role for the transcriptional regulators REST and YAP as promoters of the neuroendocrine to non-neuroendocrine transition. We further identified the specific neuroendocrine gene programs repressed by REST downstream of Notch in this process. Importantly, we validated the importance of REST and YAP in neuroendocrine to non-neuroendocrine cell fate switches in both developmental and tissue repair processes in the lungs. Altogether, these experiments identify conserved roles for REST and YAP in Notch-driven inhibition of the neuroendocrine cell fate in embryonic lungs, adult lungs, and lung cancer. Notch signaling is known to control neuroendocrine fate in the lungs. Shue and colleagues further identify the REST and YAP transcriptional regulators as key components of the Notch signaling pathway in the control of the neuroendocrine cell fate in lung development, lung injury response, and small-cell lung cancer.

The absence of effective therapeutics against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a result of the limited understanding of its multifaceted aetiology. Because of the lack of chemical tools to identify pathological factors, investigations into AD pathogenesis have also been insubstantial. Here we report chemical regulators that demonstrate distinct specificity towards targets linked to AD pathology, including metals, amyloid-β (Aβ), metal–Aβ, reactive oxygen species, and free organic radicals. We obtained these chemical regulators through a rational structure-mechanism-based design strategy. We performed structural variations of small molecules for fine-tuning their electronic properties, such as ionization potentials and mechanistic pathways for reactivity towards different targets. We established in vitro and/or in vivo efficacies of the regulators for modulating their targets’ reactivities, ameliorating toxicity, reducing amyloid pathology, and improving cognitive deficits. Our chemical tools show promise for deciphering AD pathogenesis and discovering effective drugs. To advance our understanding of pathological features associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), chemical tools with distinct specificity towards AD targets would be valuable. Here the authors used a structure-mechanism-based design strategy to obtain small molecules as chemical regulators for distinct pathological factors linked to AD pathology.