Electromyography-controlled gamified exercise system for the distal upper extremity: a usability assessment in subacute post-stroke patients.

PURPOSE: Movement repetition is known to play a key role in promoting functional improvements or maintaining functional levels in post-stroke hemiparetic patients. However, repetitive movements tend to be monotonous, making it challenging for patients to continue. Here, we developed a new gamified system to allow patients perform repetitive movements with enjoyment. The present study aimed to examine the usability of the system in subacute stroke patients. METHOD: The exercise system comprised an electromyography-controlled operating system that enabled users to play a virtual game by repetitive finger and wrist movements on the affected side. A total of 13 patients with upper-limb hemiparesis underwent a single bout of exercise using the system and assessed its usability, satisfactoriness, enjoyability, etc. using the System Usability Scale (SUS), Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology (QUEST)-like questionnaire, and numerical rating scale (NRS). RESULTS: All the participants, who had a wide range of paretic levels, were able to perform the exercise using the system. Participants scored the system a median of 85.0 for SUS and 4.2 for the QUEST-like questionnaire, with an "excellent" in usability and "satisfied" in user satisfaction with the system. The median NRS scores for enjoyability, potential for continuous use, and effectiveness were 8.0, 9.0, and 9.0, respectively, which were greater than the scores for usual rehabilitation training for the upper extremity. CONCLUSIONS: The novel electromyography-controlled gamified exercise system may have sufficient usability and enjoyability to motivate patients with a wide range of paretic levels to perform repetitive finger and wrist movements.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe electromyography-controlled gamified exercise system had overall positive perspectives on the usability of the system.This exercise system could help motivate patients with a wide range of paretic levels to perform repetitive finger and wrist movements.

A Study on Growth Performance of Ducks Fed Diets with Different Types of Sipjeondaebo-Tang Byproduct Meal and Red Ginseng Marc with Fermented Red Koji and Ammonia Fluxes in Duck Litter using Alum or Aluminum Chloride.

The aims of the present study were to investigate the growth performance of ducks fed diets with different types of Sipjeondaebo-tang (ST) byproduct meal and red ginseng marc with fermented red koji (RGMK), and to investigate ammonia (NH3) fluxes from duck litter treated with alum or aluminum chloride (AlCl3). A total of 270 1-d-old ducks (180 males and 90 females) were allotted in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 3 replicates of 15 birds per pen. The six diet treatments were: basal diet, pelleted 1% ST byproduct powder, pelleted 1% RGMK, 1% blends (a mixture of ST byproduct and RGMK) powder, 1% pelleted blends, and coated pellets of 1% blends. The six litter treatments with 6 diet treatments were: no treatment, 50, 100, or 200 g alum/kg duck litter, and 100 g or 200 g AlCl3/kg duck litter (treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively). During days 10 to 40, ducks fed the 5 experimental diets had significantly different (p<0.05) weight gains and feed conversion ratios compared with those fed the control diet, but initial body weight, final body weight, feed intake, and mortality were not affected. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in NH3 fluxes among treatments over the 6 weeks of the study, except for week 0. The relative NH3 losses at week 6 were lower by 25.6, 45.3, 45.6, 46.7, and 48.6% than those in the controls in T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively. In conclusion, feeding pellets or coated pellets of ST and RGMK and using alum or AlCl3 in the litter at the same time improves weight gain and feed conversion ratio performance and reduces mortality and NH3 losses in ducks.

Red-koji fermented red ginseng ameliorates high fat diet-induced metabolic disorders in mice.

Fermentation of medicinal herbs improves their pharmacological efficacy. In this study, we investigated the effects of red-koji fermented red ginseng (fRG) on high-fat diet (HFD)-mediated metabolic disorders, and those effects were compared to those of non-fermented red ginseng (RG). fRG (500, 250 or 125 mg/kg), RG (250 mg/kg), simvastatin (10 mg/kg), silymarin (100 mg/kg) and metformin (250 mg/kg) were orally administered from 1 week after initiation of HFD supply for 84 days. The diameter of adipocytes in periovarian and abdominal fat pads and the thickness of the abdominal fat were significantly decreased by fRG treatment, while HFD-mediated weight gain was partly alleviated by fRG in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, biochemical and histomorphometrical analyses clearly indicated that fRG significantly inhibited HFD-induced metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hepatopathy and nephropathy in a dose-dependent manner. More favorable pharmacological effects on HFD-mediated metabolic disorders were also observed with fRG compared to an equal dose of RG. This finding provides direct evidence that the pharmacological activities of RG were enhanced by red-koji fermentation, and fRG could be a neutraceutical resource for the alleviation of obesity-mediated metabolic disorders.

Effect of graphene on growth of neuroblastoma cells.

The unique properties of graphene have earned much interest in the fields of materials science and condensed-matter physics in recent years. However, the biological applications of graphene remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the conditions and viability of a cell culture exposed to graphene onto glass and SiO2/Si, using a human nerve cell line, SH-SY5Y. Cell viability was 84% when cultured on glass and SiO2/Si coated with graphene as compared with culturing on polystyrene surface. Fluorescence data showed that the presence of graphene did not influence cell morphology. These findings suggest that graphene may be used for biological applications.