Interlimb and intralimb synergy modeling for lower limb assistive devices: Methods and feature selection

(A) Assistive knee brace, (B) CUHK-EXO, (C) ankle-foot prosthesis, and (D) transfemoral prosthesis. Credit: Ming Yin, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Hainan University. A research paper by scientists at Hainan University proposed FSS-eq2Seq as a 2-stage strategy for gait synergy modeling in lower limb assistive devices to achieve synergic and user-adaptive trajectories that improve human-machine interactions. The new research paper, published on Jul. 3 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, indicatedSeq2Seq outperforms LSTM, RNN, and GRU in both interlimb and intralimb synergy modeling. Further, FS significantly improves Seq2Seq’s modeling performance. The concept of Read More

Looking for clues about your real age? Your grandparents’ education may offer some insight

Variables included in the current analysis came from the NHLBI Growth and Health study (1987–1997) and the follow-up National Growth and Health Study (NGHS). The combined information resulted in data from three-generation, including grandparents (F0), mothers (F1), and grandchildren (F2). The gray line represents the main goal of the current analysis, to examine the association between grandparents’ educational attainment as a socioeconomic context of mothers’ early rearing on grandchildren’s epigenetic-based age acceleration. The black lines represent the hypothesized mediational model of the pathways from grandparents’ education to grandchildren’s epigenetic age through parental education and mothers’ life course health-related factors (childhood Read More

Dengue recovery linked to higher long-term health risks than COVID-19

People who caught dengue and recovered are more likely to face long-term health complications about a year later compared to those who contracted COVID-19, according to the findings of a nationwide study led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore). Specifically, those who caught dengue have a 55% higher risk of heart complications, such as irregular heartbeats, heart disease, and blood clots, compared with those who fell sick with COVID-19 and recovered. Based on tests and medical claim records of 11,707 residents in Singapore with dengue and 1,248,326 who had COVID-19 (delta and omicron variant) between July 2021 and October Read More

Genotype matters—tailored screening for germline CHEK2 variants

A recent editorial was published in Oncotarget, titled “Genotype matters: Personalized screening recommendations for germline CHEK2 variants.” Recognized as a moderate-risk gene, CHEK2—responsible for encoding the CHK2 protein, which plays a crucial role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks—is associated with a 20–40% lifetime risk of breast cancer (BC) by age 85. While CHEK2 pathogenic variants (PVs) were previously linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), two recent studies have not observed this association. In their recent work, researchers Adela Rodriguez Hernandez, Rochelle Scheib, Judy E. Garber, Huma Q. Rana and Brittany L. Bychkovsky from Dana-Farber Cancer Read More

Findings shed light on the cellular mechanisms causing insulin resistance

Credit: Diabetes (2024). DOI: 10.2337/db23-0802 Recent research published in the journal Diabetes sheds new light on the cellular mechanisms causing insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes, a disease affecting more than 1.2 million people in Quebec alone. Type 2 diabetes is a complex condition for which there is no cure yet, making it a chronic condition. It is characterized by a reduction in the ability of cells to respond to insulin. This is known as insulin resistance. The cellular mechanisms causing insulin resistance are far from fully understood, but the Ferron laboratory is committed to advancing knowledge on this front. Read More

Researchers in Zurich successfully perform remote magnetic endoscopy on a live pig in Hong Kong

The operating room at the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. On the screen in the centre you can see the live link to Zurich. Credit: ETH Zurich Researchers at ETH Zurich and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have succeeded for the first time in using remote control to perform a magnetic endoscopy on a live pig. The researchers controlled the probe from Zurich while the animal was on the operating table in Hong Kong. It’s three o’clock in the morning, and Alexandre Mesot is in a room in Zurich operating an endoscope. The doctoral Read More

Study shows Australian program could save nearly 1,000 lives over the next 20 years

Tornado diagram of one-way sensitivity analysis comparing the WA SunSmart program with no program. Credit: Health Promotion International (2024). DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daae091 Cancer Council WA has welcomed a new study showing its SunSmart program is saving money as well as lives. Published in Health Promotion International, the research confirms the SunSmart program is expected to prevent 300,000 skin cancers, save 1,000 lives and return $8.70 to the public purse for every dollar spent over the next 20 years. Cancer Council WA Cancer Prevention and Research Director, Melissa Ledger, said we know skin cancer prevention programs work, and it was reassuring after Read More

New device monitors levels of inflammation-associated C-reactive protein in real time

Graphical abstract. Credit: ACS Sensors (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c00249 As inflammation is the body’s natural immune response to disease or infection, it increases blood flow in the body and helps the body’s cells to defend themselves against viruses, infections or cell damage. Fast diagnostics of inflammation is crucial for effective treatments, so it is extremely important to test the levels of inflammatory biomarkers in the body. Researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences have demonstrated a novel point-of-care device to monitor levels of the C-reactive protein (CRP) that is produced in the body during inflammation. The work Read More

New study supports annual breast cancer screening for women over 40

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who had regular screening mammograms every year were less likely to have late-stage cancer and had higher overall survival than those who received screening every other year or less often, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “Only about 65% of women over age 40 are screened for breast cancer, and only about half of those women are getting annual screening—in part because of conflicting guidelines about recommended screening intervals,” said lead author Margarita Zuley, M.D., professor and chief of the Division of Breast Read More

South Florida’s Hispanic communities see fewer late-stage lung cancer diagnoses

When it comes to cancer disparities, community may count. A study published Aug. 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that although Hispanic non-small cell lung cancer patients tend to be diagnosed at later stages than white patients, that disadvantage disappears in South Florida. The first-of-its-kind study examined disparities in lung cancer staging across all lung cancer patients in the state of Florida and found that while racial and ethnic minorities tend to be diagnosed at later stages than white patients in most of the state, that disadvantage disappears for most Hispanic populations living in South Florida. Read More

Knowing you have a brain aneurysm may raise risk of anxiety, other mental health conditions

Among people who had aneurysms (weakened areas in brain blood vessels), the risk of developing a mental health condition was higher than among peers without an aneurysm. The highest risk was seen in patients younger than age 40, according to research published in Stroke. An unruptured intracranial aneurysm occurs when the wall of a blood vessel in the brain becomes weak and bulges out, posing a potential risk of future rupture and life-threatening bleeding in the brain. “As a neurosurgeon who treats cerebral aneurysms, I often see people who do not undergo surgery yet feel fear and/or anxiety about their Read More

Study finds nearly half of US counties have at least one ‘pharmacy desert’

Nearly half of counties in the United States have at least one ‘pharmacy desert’ where there is no retail pharmacy within 10 miles, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC—James). “As pharmacies close, more and more Americans are left without easy access to medications, with disproportionate consequences on certain communities. We found that patients in counties with higher social vulnerabilities and fewer primary care providers were up to 40% more likely to reside in a region with Read More

Frequent cannabis users miss more workdays, research shows

A new analysis of 46,499 employed adults in the United States, completed with data from the 2021–2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), found that recent and frequent cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) were associated with greater workplace absenteeism. This included both absences due to illness/injury as well as skipped work days. Among full-time employed adults, 15.9% used cannabis in the past month, with 6.5% meeting criteria for CUD. The study found that over the last 30 days, the mean number of workdays missed because of illness was 1.47 for people who didn’t have CUD but Read More

Dr. Anthony Fauci recovering at home after being hospitalized with West Nile virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who helped millions of Americans navigate the health challenges of the pandemic, is recovering at home after being hospitalized for a West Nile infection. Fauci should make a full recovery, a spokesperson told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns. In a post on the social media platform X, Dr. Jonathan LaPook, chief medical correspondent for CBS News, said he spoke Saturday with Fauci, who believes he was likely infected from a mosquito bite that he got in his backyard. “Dr. Fauci was hospitalized about ten days ago after developing fever, chills Read More

US will offer free COVID tests by mail by late September

As a summer surge in COVID cases begins to ebb and Americans brace themselves for yet another wave of infections this winter, more free COVID tests will soon be available to all, federal health officials announced Friday. Starting in late September, every U.S. household can order up to four nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) agency that oversees the testing has not yet announced an exact date for ordering to begin. Since the pandemic began, the program has distributed over 900 million tests directly to American households, the Read More

Strength-based cultural care improves health outcomes for Aboriginal mothers and babies

Credit: Murdoch University Bridgette Kelly and Trish Ratajczak from Murdoch University’s Ngangk Yira Institute for Change are passionate about changing this, with both addressing these gaps in their Accelerated Master’s by Research theses. Kelly, a proud Kamilaroi woman, and Ratajczak, a proud Palawa Trawlwoolway woman, have years of experience in the perinatal health space, and hope their research inspires other Aboriginal people to enter university and reclaim their rights to culturally safe health care. In Ratajczak’s thesis, the Baby Coming You Ready (BCYR) program, a model of care designed to overcome communication barriers between Aboriginal women and their health care Read More

First-of-its kind program makes organ transplants more accessible to disadvantaged Black Americans

Credit: NEJM Catalyst (2024). DOI: 10.1056/CAT.24.0140 Black people in the United States are almost four times more likely to develop kidney failure and experience heart failure compared to white Americans, but they are much less likely to receive lifesaving transplants. In 2019, Northwestern Medicine created a novel and practical solution to this complex issue by redesigning the transplant access process for Black patients challenged by structural and institutional barriers. The African American Transplant Access Program (AATAP) was the first of its kind nationally, but its founders hope the publication of a new paper in the NEJM Catalyst will propel the Read More

Waking up to the hidden struggles of inflammatory bowel diseases

Latent profiles of determinants of fatigue. Credit: BMC Gastroenterology (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s12876-024-03239-2 Helping people with inflammatory bowel diseases to get a better night’s sleep could help keep the condition at bay and improve their quality of life, say Flinders University and Flinders Medical Center researchers, as they work to untangle the threads of the disease. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects an estimated 100,000 Australians, and more than 6 million people worldwide, yet there is currently no known cause or cure. The best outcome for people diagnosed with the disease is to achieve remission—meaning the disease is not active—and maintain a Read More

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals heterogeneity in fibrotic scars after spinal cord injury

Schematic diagram of fibrotic scar heterogeneity after spinal cord injury. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50564-x Myofibroblasts generate fibrotic scars after spinal cord injury (SCI). This is typically regarded as an impediment to nerve regeneration. Understanding the heterogeneous characteristics of ?brotic scars might help to develop strategies for remodeling ?brotic scars after SCI. However, the composition, origin and function of fibrotic scars have been a subject of ongoing debate in the field. A recent study led by Profs. Dai Jianwu and Zhao Yannan from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences employed a combination Read More

WHO says mpox outbreaks ‘can be stopped’

Credit: AI-generated image Outbreaks of mpox in Central Africa “can be stopped”, the World Health Organization said on Monday, but $135 million of funding may be needed to tackle the disease’s spread. Earlier in August, the WHO declared an international health emergency after a surge in cases linked to a new mpox strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has since spread beyond its borders. “The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is quoted as saying in the statement. But “doing Read More