Pattern selection in an anisotropic Hele-Shaw cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCloud, K.V.; Maher, J.V.

1995-02-01

The selection of steady-state viscous fingers has been measured in Hele-Shaw cells that are perturbed by having rectangular and square lattices etched on one of their plates. The strength of the perturbation was varied by varying the cell gap, and over a wide range of observable tip velocities this local perturbation was also made microscopic in the sense that the capillary length of the flow was large in comparison to the cell size of the underlying lattice. Above threshold the microscopic perturbation results in the selection of wider fingers than those selected in the unperturbed flow for all channel orientationsmore » in the experiment. All observed solutions are symmetric, centered in the channel, and have the relation between tip curvature and finger width expected of members of the Saffman-Taylor family of solutions. Selected solutions narrow again at tip velocities where the perturbations can no longer be considered microscopic.« less

Distractor objects affect fingers' angular distances but not fingers' shaping during grasping.

PubMed

Ansuini, Caterina; Tognin, Veronica; Turella, Luca; Castiello, Umberto

2007-04-01

The aim of the present study was to determine whether and how hand shaping was affected by the presence of a distractor object adjacent to the to-be-grasped object. Twenty subjects were requested to reach towards and grasp a 'convex' or a 'concave' object in the presence or absence of a distractor object either of the same or different shape than the target object. Flexion/extension at the metacarpal-phalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal joints of all digits, and abduction angle between digits were measured by resistive sensors embedded in a glove. The results indicate robust interference effects at the level of reach duration and the extent of fingers' abduction angles together with changes at the level of a single joint for the thumb. No distractor effects on individual fingers' joints except for the MCP of the middle and little fingers were found. These findings suggest that the presence of distractor object affects hand shaping in terms of fingers' abduction angles, but not at the level of 'shape dependent' fingers' angular excursions. Furthermore, they support the importance of the thumb for the guidance of selective reach-to-grasp movements. We discuss these results in the context of current theories proposed to explain the object selection processes underlying the control of hand action.

Computational Precision of Mental Inference as Critical Source of Human Choice Suboptimality.

PubMed

Drugowitsch, Jan; Wyart, Valentin; Devauchelle, Anne-Dominique; Koechlin, Etienne

2016-12-21

Making decisions in uncertain environments often requires combining multiple pieces of ambiguous information from external cues. In such conditions, human choices resemble optimal Bayesian inference, but typically show a large suboptimal variability whose origin remains poorly understood. In particular, this choice suboptimality might arise from imperfections in mental inference rather than in peripheral stages, such as sensory processing and response selection. Here, we dissociate these three sources of suboptimality in human choices based on combining multiple ambiguous cues. Using a novel quantitative approach for identifying the origin and structure of choice variability, we show that imperfections in inference alone cause a dominant fraction of suboptimal choices. Furthermore, two-thirds of this suboptimality appear to derive from the limited precision of neural computations implementing inference rather than from systematic deviations from Bayes-optimal inference. These findings set an upper bound on the accuracy and ultimate predictability of human choices in uncertain environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integration of tactile input across fingers in a patient with finger agnosia.

PubMed

Anema, Helen A; Overvliet, Krista E; Smeets, Jeroen B J; Brenner, Eli; Dijkerman, H Chris

2011-01-01

Finger agnosia has been described as an inability to explicitly individuate between the fingers, which is possibly due to fused neural representations of these fingers. Hence, are patients with finger agnosia unable to keep tactile information perceived over several fingers separate? Here, we tested a finger agnosic patient (GO) on two tasks that measured the ability to keep tactile information simultaneously perceived by individual fingers separate. In experiment 1 GO performed a haptic search task, in which a target (the absence of a protruded line) needed to be identified among distracters (protruded lines). The lines were presented simultaneously to the fingertips of both hands. Similarly to the controls, her reaction time decreased when her fingers were aligned as compared to when her fingers were stretched and in an unaligned position. This suggests that she can keep tactile input from different fingers separate. In experiment two, GO was required to judge the position of a target tactile stimulus to the index finger, relatively to a reference tactile stimulus to the middle finger, both in fingers uncrossed and crossed position. GO was able to indicate the relative position of the target stimulus as well as healthy controls, which indicates that she was able to keep tactile information perceived by two neighbouring fingers separate. Interestingly, GO performed better as compared to the healthy controls in the finger crossed condition. Together, these results suggest the GO is able to implicitly distinguish between tactile information perceived by multiple fingers. We therefore conclude that finger agnosia is not caused by minor disruptions of low-level somatosensory processing. These findings further underpin the idea of a selective impaired higher order body representation restricted to the fingers as underlying cause of finger agnosia. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analytic theory for the selection of Saffman-Taylor fingers in the presence of thin film effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanveer, S.

1989-01-01

An analytic theory is presented for the width selection of Saffman-Taylor fingers in the presence of thin film effect. In the limit of small capillary number Ca and small gap to width ratio epsilon, such that epsilon much less than Ca much less than 1, it is found that fingers with relative width lambda less than 1/2 are possible such that lambda squared (1-lambda)/(1-2 lambda) = k epsilon/Ca(sup 3/2), where the positive constant k depends on the branch of solution and equals 2.776 for the first branch. A fully nonlinear analysis is necessary in this problem even to obtain the correct scaling law. It is also shown how in principle, the selection rule for arbitrary Ca can be obtained.

Assessment of finger forces and wrist torques for functional grasp using new multichannel textile neuroprostheses.

PubMed

Lawrence, Marc; Gross, Gion-Pitschen; Lang, Martin; Kuhn, Andreas; Keller, Thierry; Morari, Manfred

2008-08-01

New multichannel textile neuroprotheses were developed, which comprise multiple sets of transcutaneous electrode arrays and connecting wires embroidered into a fabric layer. The electrode arrays were placed on the forearm above the extrinsic finger flexors and extensors. Activation regions for selective finger flexion and wrist extension were configured by switching a subset of the array elements between cathode, anode, and off states. We present a new isometric measurement system for the assessment of finger forces and wrist torques generated using the new neuroprostheses. Finger forces (from the middle phalanxes) were recorded using five load cells mounted on a "grasp handle" that can be arbitrarily positioned in space. The hand and the grasp handle were rigidly mounted to a 6-degree of freedom load cell, and the forces and torques about the wrist were recorded. A vacuum cushion was used to comfortably fixate the forearm. The position and orientation of the forearm, wrist, fingers, and handle were recorded using a new three-dimensional position measurement system (accuracy <+/-1 mm). The measurement system was integrated into the real-time multichannel transcutaneous electrode environment, which is able to control the spatiotemporal position of multiple activation regions. Using the combined system and textile neuroprosthesis, we were able to optimize the activation regions to produce selective finger and wrist articulation, enabling improved functional grasp.

The discovery of zinc fingers and their development for practical applications in gene regulation and genome manipulation.

PubMed

Klug, Aaron

2010-02-01

A long-standing goal of molecular biologists has been to construct DNA-binding proteins for the control of gene expression. The classical Cys2His2 (C2H2) zinc finger design is ideally suited for such purposes. Discriminating between closely related DNA sequences both in vitro and in vivo, this naturally occurring design was adopted for engineering zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) to target genes specifically. Zinc fingers were discovered in 1985, arising from the interpretation of our biochemical studies on the interaction of the Xenopus protein transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA) with 5S RNA. Subsequent structural studies revealed its three-dimensional structure and its interaction with DNA. Each finger constitutes a self-contained domain stabilized by a zinc (Zn) ion ligated to a pair of cysteines and a pair of histidines and also by an inner structural hydrophobic core. This discovery showed not only a new protein fold but also a novel principle of DNA recognition. Whereas other DNA-binding proteins generally make use of the 2-fold symmetry of the double helix, functioning as homo- or heterodimers, zinc fingers can be linked linearly in tandem to recognize nucleic acid sequences of varying lengths. This modular design offers a large number of combinatorial possibilities for the specific recognition of DNA (or RNA). It is therefore not surprising that the zinc finger is found widespread in nature, including 3% of the genes of the human genome. The zinc finger design can be used to construct DNA-binding proteins for specific intervention in gene expression. By fusing selected zinc finger peptides to repression or activation domains, genes can be selectively switched off or on by targeting the peptide to the desired gene target. It was also suggested that by combining an appropriate zinc finger peptide with other effector or functional domains, e.g. from nucleases or integrases to form chimaeric proteins, genomes could be modified or manipulated. The first example of the power of the method was published in 1994 when a three-finger protein was constructed to block the expression of a human oncogene transformed into a mouse cell line. The same paper also described how a reporter gene was activated by targeting an inserted 9-base pair (bp) sequence, which acts as the promoter. Thus, by fusing zinc finger peptides to repression or activation domains, genes can be selectively switched off or on. It was also suggested that, by combining zinc fingers with other effector or functional domains, e.g. from nucleases or integrases, to form chimaeric proteins, genomes could be manipulated or modified. Several applications of such engineered ZFPs are described here, including some of therapeutic importance, and also their adaptation for breeding improved crop plants.

A rapid, generally applicable method to engineer zinc fingers illustrated by targeting the HIV-1 promoter.

PubMed

Isalan, M; Klug, A; Choo, Y

2001-07-01

DNA-binding domains with predetermined sequence specificity are engineered by selection of zinc finger modules using phage display, allowing the construction of customized transcription factors. Despite remarkable progress in this field, the available protein-engineering methods are deficient in many respects, thus hampering the applicability of the technique. Here we present a rapid and convenient method that can be used to design zinc finger proteins against a variety of DNA-binding sites. This is based on a pair of pre-made zinc finger phage-display libraries, which are used in parallel to select two DNA-binding domains each of which recognizes given 5 base pair sequences, and whose products are recombined to produce a single protein that recognizes a composite (9 base pair) site of predefined sequence. Engineering using this system can be completed in less than two weeks and yields proteins that bind sequence-specifically to DNA with Kd values in the nanomolar range. To illustrate the technique, we have selected seven different proteins to bind various regions of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) promoter.

Sensory Feedback Training for Improvement of Finger Perception in Cerebral Palsy

PubMed Central

Alves-Pinto, Ana; Aschmann, Simon; Lützow, Ines; Lampe, Renée

2015-01-01

Purpose. To develop and to test a feedback training system for improvement of tactile perception and coordination of fingers in children and youth with cerebral palsy. Methods. The fingers of 7 probands with cerebral palsy of different types and severity were stimulated using small vibration motors integrated in the fingers of a hand glove. The vibration motors were connected through a microcontroller to a computer and to a response 5-button keyboard. By pressing an appropriate keyboard button, the proband must indicate in which finger the vibration was felt. The number of incorrect responses and the reaction time were measured for every finger. The perception and coordination of fingers were estimated before and after two-week training using both clinical tests and the measurements. Results. Proper functioning of the developed system in persons with cerebral palsy was confirmed. The tactile sensation of fingers was improved in five of seven subjects after two weeks of training. There was no clear tendency towards improvement of selective use of fingers. Conclusion. The designed feedback system could be used to train tactile perception of fingers in children and youth with cerebral palsy. An extensive study is required to confirm these findings. PMID:26124965

Sensory Feedback Training for Improvement of Finger Perception in Cerebral Palsy.

PubMed

Blumenstein, Tobias; Alves-Pinto, Ana; Turova, Varvara; Aschmann, Simon; Lützow, Ines; Lampe, Renée

2015-01-01

Purpose. To develop and to test a feedback training system for improvement of tactile perception and coordination of fingers in children and youth with cerebral palsy. Methods. The fingers of 7 probands with cerebral palsy of different types and severity were stimulated using small vibration motors integrated in the fingers of a hand glove. The vibration motors were connected through a microcontroller to a computer and to a response 5-button keyboard. By pressing an appropriate keyboard button, the proband must indicate in which finger the vibration was felt. The number of incorrect responses and the reaction time were measured for every finger. The perception and coordination of fingers were estimated before and after two-week training using both clinical tests and the measurements. Results. Proper functioning of the developed system in persons with cerebral palsy was confirmed. The tactile sensation of fingers was improved in five of seven subjects after two weeks of training. There was no clear tendency towards improvement of selective use of fingers. Conclusion. The designed feedback system could be used to train tactile perception of fingers in children and youth with cerebral palsy. An extensive study is required to confirm these findings.

Dynamic modulation of corticospinal excitability and short-latency afferent inhibition during onset and maintenance phase of selective finger movement.

PubMed

Cho, Hyun Joo; Panyakaew, Pattamon; Thirugnanasambandam, Nivethida; Wu, Tianxia; Hallett, Mark

2016-06-01

During highly selective finger movement, corticospinal excitability is reduced in surrounding muscles at the onset of movement but this phenomenon has not been demonstrated during maintenance of movement. Sensorimotor integration may play an important role in selective movement. We sought to investigate how corticospinal excitability and short-latency afferent inhibition changes in active and surrounding muscles during onset and maintenance of selective finger movement. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and paired peripheral stimulation, input-output recruitment curve and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) were measured in the first dorsal interosseus and abductor digiti minimi muscles during selective index finger flexion. Motor surround inhibition was present only at the onset phase, but not at the maintenance phase of movement. SAI was reduced at onset but not at the maintenance phase of movement in both active and surrounding muscles. Our study showed dynamic changes in corticospinal excitability and sensorimotor modulation for active and surrounding muscles in different movement states. SAI does not appear to contribute to motor surround inhibition at the movement onset phase. Also, there seems to be different inhibitory circuit(s) other than SAI for the movement maintenance phase in order to delineate the motor output selectively when corticospinal excitability is increased in both active and surrounding muscles. This study enhances our knowledge of dynamic changes in corticospinal excitability and sensorimotor interaction in different movement states to understand normal and disordered movements. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Does finger training increase young children's numerical performance?

PubMed

Gracia-Bafalluy, Maria; Noël, Marie-Pascale

2008-04-01

Butterworth (1999) suggested that fingers are important in representing numerosities. Furthermore, scores on a finger gnosis test are a better predictor of numerical performance up to 3 years later than intellectual measures (Marinthe et al., 2001; Noël, 2005). We hypothesised that training in finger differentiation would increase finger gnosis and might also improve numerical performance. Accordingly, 47 first-grade children were selected and divided into 3 groups: children with poor finger gnosis who followed the finger-differentiation training programme (G1), a control-intervention who were trained in story comprehension (G2), and a group with high finger gnosis scores who just continued with normal school lessons (G3). The finger training consisted of 2 weekly sessions of half an hour each, for 8 weeks. Before the training period, children in G3 performed better in finger gnosis and enumeration than children in the two other groups. After the training period this pattern remained for the children in G2 and G3, but the children in G1 were significantly better than those in G2 at finger gnosis, representation of numerosities with fingers, and quantification tasks; they also tended to be better at the processing of Arabic digits. These results indicate that improving finger gnosis in young children is possible and that it can provide a useful support to learning mathematics. Such an approach could be particularly appropriate for children with a developmental Gerstmann syndrome. Theoretically, these results are important because they suggest a functional link between finger gnosis and number skills.

Getting a grip: different actions and visual guidance of the thumb and finger in precision grasping.

PubMed

Melmoth, Dean R; Grant, Simon

2012-10-01

We manipulated the visual information available for grasping to examine what is visually guided when subjects get a precision grip on a common class of object (upright cylinders). In Experiment 1, objects (2 sizes) were placed at different eccentricities to vary the relative proximity to the participant's (n = 6) body of their thumb and finger contact positions in the final grip orientations, with vision available throughout or only for movement programming. Thumb trajectories were straighter and less variable than finger paths, and the thumb normally made initial contact with the objects at a relatively invariant landing site, but consistent thumb first-contacts were disrupted without visual guidance. Finger deviations were more affected by the object's properties and increased when vision was unavailable after movement onset. In Experiment 2, participants (n = 12) grasped 'glow-in-the-dark' objects wearing different luminous gloves in which the whole hand was visible or the thumb or the index finger was selectively occluded. Grip closure times were prolonged and thumb first-contacts disrupted when subjects could not see their thumb, whereas occluding the finger resulted in wider grips at contact because this digit remained distant from the object. Results were together consistent with visual feedback guiding the thumb in the period just prior to contacting the object, with the finger more involved in opening the grip and avoiding collision with the opposite contact surface. As people can overtly fixate only one object contact point at a time, we suggest that selecting one digit for online guidance represents an optimal strategy for initial grip placement. Other grasping tasks, in which the finger appears to be used for this purpose, are discussed.

Finger-specific loss of independent control of movements in musicians with focal dystonia.

PubMed

Furuya, S; Altenmüller, E

2013-09-05

The loss of independent control of finger movements impairs the dexterous use of the hand. Focal hand dystonia is characterised by abnormal structural and functional changes at the cortical and subcortical regions responsible for individuated finger movements and by the loss of surround inhibition in the finger muscles. However, little is known about the pathophysiological impact of focal dystonia on the independent control of finger movements. Here we addressed this issue by asking pianists with and without focal dystonia to repetitively strike a piano key with one of the four fingers as fast as possible while the remaining digits kept the adjacent keys depressed. Using principal component analysis and cluster analysis to the derived keystroke data, we successfully classified pianists according to the presence or absence of dystonic symptoms with classification rates and cross-validation scores of approximately 90%. This confirmed the effects of focal dystonia on the individuated finger movements. Interestingly, the movement features that contributed to successful classification differed across fingers. Compared to healthy pianists, pianists with an affected index finger were characterised predominantly by stronger keystrokes, whereas pianists with affected middle or ring fingers exhibited abnormal temporal control of the keystrokes, such as slowness and rhythmic inconsistency. The selective alternation of the movement features indicates a finger-specific loss of the independent control of finger movements in focal dystonia of musicians. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of breeding values using selected pedigree records.

PubMed

Morton, Richard; Howarth, Jordan M

2005-06-01

Fish bred in tanks or ponds cannot be easily tagged individually. The parentage of any individual may be determined by DNA fingerprinting, but is sufficiently expensive that large numbers cannot be so finger-printed. The measurement of the objective trait can be made on a much larger sample relatively cheaply. This article deals with experimental designs for selecting individuals to be finger-printed and for the estimation of the individual and family breeding values. The general setup provides estimates for both genetic effects regarded as fixed or random and for fixed effects due to known regressors. The family effects can be well estimated when even very small numbers are finger-printed, provided that they are the individuals with the most extreme phenotypes.

Selection of suitable hand gestures for reliable myoelectric human computer interface.

PubMed

Castro, Maria Claudia F; Arjunan, Sridhar P; Kumar, Dinesh K

2015-04-09

Myoelectric controlled prosthetic hand requires machine based identification of hand gestures using surface electromyogram (sEMG) recorded from the forearm muscles. This study has observed that a sub-set of the hand gestures have to be selected for an accurate automated hand gesture recognition, and reports a method to select these gestures to maximize the sensitivity and specificity. Experiments were conducted where sEMG was recorded from the muscles of the forearm while subjects performed hand gestures and then was classified off-line. The performances of ten gestures were ranked using the proposed Positive-Negative Performance Measurement Index (PNM), generated by a series of confusion matrices. When using all the ten gestures, the sensitivity and specificity was 80.0% and 97.8%. After ranking the gestures using the PNM, six gestures were selected and these gave sensitivity and specificity greater than 95% (96.5% and 99.3%); Hand open, Hand close, Little finger flexion, Ring finger flexion, Middle finger flexion and Thumb flexion. This work has shown that reliable myoelectric based human computer interface systems require careful selection of the gestures that have to be recognized and without such selection, the reliability is poor.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) using shoot apex explants.

PubMed

Ceasar, S Antony; Ignacimuthu, S

2011-09-01

A new Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system was developed for finger millet using shoot apex explants. The Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harboring binary vector pCAMBIA1301, which contained hygromycin phosphotransferase (hptII) as selectable marker gene and β-glucuronidase (GUS) as reporter gene, was used for optimization of transformation conditions. Two finger millet genotypes, GPU 45 and CO 14, were used in this study. The optimal conditions for the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of finger millet were found to be the co-cultivation of explants obtained on the 16th day after callus induction (DACI), exposure of explants for 30 min to agrobacterial inoculum and 3 days of co-cultivation on filter paper placed on medium supplemented with 100 μM acetosyringone (AS). Addition of 100 μM L: -cysteine in the selection medium enhanced the frequency of transformation and transgenic plant recovery. Both finger millet genotypes were transformed by Agrobacterium. A frequency of 19% transient expression with 3.8% stable transformation was achieved in genotype GPU 45 using optimal conditions. Five stably transformed plants were fully characterized by Southern blot analysis. A segregation analysis was also performed in four R(1) progenies, which showed normal Mendelian pattern of transgene segregation. The inheritance of transgenes in R(1) progenies was also confirmed by Southern blot analysis. This is the first report on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of finger millet. This study underpins the introduction of numerous agronomically important genes into the genome of finger millet in the future.

Joint Transmit Antenna Selection and Power Allocation for ISDF Relaying Mobile-to-Mobile Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Xu, Lingwei; Zhang, Hao; Gulliver, T. Aaron

2016-01-01

The outage probability (OP) performance of multiple-relay incremental-selective decode-and-forward (ISDF) relaying mobile-to-mobile (M2M) sensor networks with transmit antenna selection (TAS) over N-Nakagami fading channels is investigated. Exact closed-form OP expressions for both optimal and suboptimal TAS schemes are derived. The power allocation problem is formulated to determine the optimal division of transmit power between the broadcast and relay phases. The OP performance under different conditions is evaluated via numerical simulation to verify the analysis. These results show that the optimal TAS scheme has better OP performance than the suboptimal scheme. Further, the power allocation parameter has a significant influence on the OP performance. PMID:26907282

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn].

PubMed

Ceasar, Stanislaus Antony; Ignacimuthu, Savarimuthu

2015-01-01

Millets are the primary food source for millions of people in tropical regions of the world supplying mineral nutrition and protein. In this chapter, we describe an optimized protocol for the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of finger millet variety GPU 45. Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harboring plasmid pCAMBIA1301 which contains hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph) as selectable marker gene and β-glucuronidase (GUS) as reporter gene has been used. This protocol utilizes the shoot apex explants for the somatic embryogenesis and regeneration of finger millet after the transformation by Agrobacterium. Desiccation of explants during cocultivation helps for the better recovery of transgenic plants. This protocol is very useful for the efficient production of transgenic plants in finger millet through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.

Evaluation of nutraceutical properties of selected small millets.

PubMed

Rao, B Raghavendra; Nagasampige, Manojkumar H; Ravikiran, M

2011-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutraceutical properties and nutritional value of grains of four selected small millets viz. finger millet, foxtail millet, prosomillet and khodomillet. The qualitative analysis of phytochemicals viz. phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins present in the four small millets was done. The water-soluble proteins, crude fiber content and the reducing power of the grains of these four millets were analyzed. The khodomillet showed maximum phenolic content (10.3%) and foxtail millet showed minimum phenolics (2.5%). As far as reducing capacity was concerned, finger millet was highest (5.7%). The prosomillet showed least reducing property (2.6%). The finger millet (391.3 mg/g each) showed maximum reducing sugar content. The prosomillet showed minimum reducing sugar (195 mg/g). The foxtail millet showed maximum protein content (305.76 mg/g) and prosomillet showed minimum protein content (144.23 mg/g). The khodomillet showed maximum crude fiber content (14.3%).The finger millet showed maximum reducing sugar content (391.3 mg/g) whereas, the khodomillet showed minimum reducing sugar (130.43 mg/g).

Aesthetic finger prosthesis with silicone biomaterial

PubMed Central

Raghu, K M; Gururaju, C R; Sundaresh, K J; Mallikarjuna, Rachappa

2013-01-01

The fabrication of finger prosthesis is as much an art as it is science. The ideally constructed prosthesis must duplicate the missing structures so precisely that patients can appear in public without fear of attracting unwanted attraction. A 65-years-old patient reported with loss of his right index finger up to the second phalanx and wanted to get it replaced. An impression of the amputated finger and donor were made. A wax pattern of the prosthesis was fabricated using the donor impression; a trial was performed and flasked. Medical grade silicone was intrinsically stained to match the skin tone, following which it was packed, processed and finished. This clinical report describes a method of attaining retention by selective scoring of the master cast of partially amputated finger to enhance the vacuum effect at par with the proportional distribution of the positive forces on the tissues exerted by the prosthesis. PMID:23975917

Determining the number of fingers in the lifting Hele-Shaw problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, Jose; Dias, Eduardo

2013-11-01

The lifting Hele-Shaw cell flow is a variation of the celebrated radial viscous fingering problem for which the upper cell plate is lifted uniformly at a specified rate. This procedure causes the formation of intricate interfacial patterns. Most theoretical studies determine the total number of emerging fingers by maximizing the linear growth rate, but this generates discrepancies between theory and experiments. In this work, we tackle the number of fingers selection problem in the lifting Hele-Shaw cell by employing the recently proposed maximum-amplitude criterion. Our linear stability analysis accounts for the action of capillary, viscous normal stresses, and wetting effects, as well as the cell confinement. The comparison of our results with very precise laboratory measurements for the total number of fingers shows a significantly improved agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental data. We thank CNPq (Brazilian Sponsor) for financial support.

An Individual Finger Gesture Recognition System Based on Motion-Intent Analysis Using Mechanomyogram Signal

PubMed Central

Ding, Huijun; He, Qing; Zhou, Yongjin; Dan, Guo; Cui, Song

2017-01-01

Motion-intent-based finger gesture recognition systems are crucial for many applications such as prosthesis control, sign language recognition, wearable rehabilitation system, and human–computer interaction. In this article, a motion-intent-based finger gesture recognition system is designed to correctly identify the tapping of every finger for the first time. Two auto-event annotation algorithms are firstly applied and evaluated for detecting the finger tapping frame. Based on the truncated signals, the Wavelet packet transform (WPT) coefficients are calculated and compressed as the features, followed by a feature selection method that is able to improve the performance by optimizing the feature set. Finally, three popular classifiers including naive Bayes (NBC), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and support vector machine (SVM) are applied and evaluated. The recognition accuracy can be achieved up to 94%. The design and the architecture of the system are presented with full system characterization results. PMID:29167655

A cross sectional study on hand-arm vibration syndrome among a group of tree fellers in a tropical environment.

PubMed

Su, Anselm Ting; Maeda, Setsuo; Fukumoto, Jin; Miyai, Nobuyuki; Isahak, Marzuki; Yoshioka, Atsushi; Nakajima, Ryuichi; Bulgiba, Awang; Miyashita, Kazuhisa

2014-01-01

This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics of hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) in a group of tree fellers in a tropical environment. We examined all tree fellers and selected control subjects in a logging camp of central Sarawak for vibration exposure and presence of HAVS symptoms utilizing vibrotactile perception threshold test (VPT) and cold water provocation test (CWP). None of the subjects reported white finger. The tree fellers reported significantly higher prevalence of finger coldness as compared to the control subjects (OR=10.32, 95%CI=1.21-87.94). A lower finger skin temperature, longer fingernail capillary return time and higher VPT were observed among the tree fellers as compared to the control subjects in all fingers (effect size >0.5). The VPT following CWP of the tree fellers was significantly higher (repeated measures ANOVA p=0.002, partial η(2)=0.196) than the control subject. The A (8) level was associated with finger tingling, numbness and dullness (effect size=0.983) and finger coldness (effect size=0.524) among the tree fellers. Finger coldness and finger tingling, numbness and dullness are important symptoms for HAVS in tropical environment that may indicate vascular and neurological damage due to hand-transmitted vibration exposure.

In Vitro Resistance Profile of the Candidate HIV-1 Microbicide Drug Dapivirine

PubMed Central

Schader, Susan M.; Oliveira, Maureen; Ibanescu, Ruxandra-Ilinca; Moisi, Daniela; Colby-Germinario, Susan P.

2012-01-01

Antiretroviral-based microbicides may offer a means to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV-1. Suboptimal use of a microbicide may, however, lead to the development of drug resistance in users that are already, or become, infected with HIV-1. In such cases, the efficacy of treatments may be compromised since the same (or similar) antiretrovirals used in treatments are being developed as microbicides. To help predict which drug resistance mutations may develop in the context of suboptimal use, HIV-1 primary isolates of different subtypes and different baseline resistance profiles were used to infect primary cells in vitro in the presence of increasing suboptimal concentrations of the two candidate microbicide antiretrovirals dapivirine (DAP) and tenofovir (TFV) alone or in combination. Infections were ongoing for 25 weeks, after which reverse transcriptase genotypes were determined and scrutinized for the presence of any clinically recognized reverse transcriptase drug resistance mutations. Results indicated that suboptimal concentrations of DAP alone facilitated the emergence of common nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance mutations, while suboptimal concentrations of DAP plus TFV gave rise to fewer mutations. Suboptimal concentrations of TFV alone did not frequently result in the development of resistance mutations. Sensitivity evaluations for stavudine (d4T), nevirapine (NVP), and lamivudine (3TC) revealed that the selection of resistance as a consequence of suboptimal concentrations of DAP may compromise the potential for NVP to be used in treatment, a finding of potential relevance in developing countries. PMID:22123692

In vitro resistance profile of the candidate HIV-1 microbicide drug dapivirine.

PubMed

Schader, Susan M; Oliveira, Maureen; Ibanescu, Ruxandra-Ilinca; Moisi, Daniela; Colby-Germinario, Susan P; Wainberg, Mark A

2012-02-01

Antiretroviral-based microbicides may offer a means to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV-1. Suboptimal use of a microbicide may, however, lead to the development of drug resistance in users that are already, or become, infected with HIV-1. In such cases, the efficacy of treatments may be compromised since the same (or similar) antiretrovirals used in treatments are being developed as microbicides. To help predict which drug resistance mutations may develop in the context of suboptimal use, HIV-1 primary isolates of different subtypes and different baseline resistance profiles were used to infect primary cells in vitro in the presence of increasing suboptimal concentrations of the two candidate microbicide antiretrovirals dapivirine (DAP) and tenofovir (TFV) alone or in combination. Infections were ongoing for 25 weeks, after which reverse transcriptase genotypes were determined and scrutinized for the presence of any clinically recognized reverse transcriptase drug resistance mutations. Results indicated that suboptimal concentrations of DAP alone facilitated the emergence of common nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance mutations, while suboptimal concentrations of DAP plus TFV gave rise to fewer mutations. Suboptimal concentrations of TFV alone did not frequently result in the development of resistance mutations. Sensitivity evaluations for stavudine (d4T), nevirapine (NVP), and lamivudine (3TC) revealed that the selection of resistance as a consequence of suboptimal concentrations of DAP may compromise the potential for NVP to be used in treatment, a finding of potential relevance in developing countries.

Limited independent flexion of the thumb and fingers in human subjects.

PubMed Central

Kilbreath, S L; Gandevia, S C

1994-01-01

1. We investigated whether human subjects can activate selectively flexor pollicis longus (FPL) and digital portions of flexor digitorum profundus (FDP). These muscles were selected because they are the only flexors of the distal phalanges. 2. Electromyographic activity (EMG) was recorded with intramuscular electrodes from one digital component of the deep flexors ('test') while subjects lifted weights by flexing the distal interphalangeal joint of the other digits in turn ('lifting' digits). Only recording sites at which single motor units were recruited selectively at low forces were used. The weights lifted represented 2.5-50% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). We measured the lowest weight lifted which produced phasic and tonic coactivation in the 'test' muscle. 3. The extent of coactivation varied with the 'distance' between the test and lifting digits although no significant difference occurred in the pattern of coactivation thresholds among the digital flexors. The extent of coactivation increased when angular displacement or velocity at the distal interphalangeal joint of the lifting digit increased but was not critically dependent on restraint of the hand. 4. Because mechanical 'connections' could interfere with the ability to move a distal phalanx independently, the arms of nine cadavers were studied. The separation of tendons between the thumb (FPL) and the index portion of FDP, and between the index and middle portions of FDP, usually extended more proximally in the forearm than separation between the tendons to the middle and ring fingers and between the ring and little fingers. Direct intertendinous links were also noted. 5. It is not possible to direct a sufficiently focal motor command to flex selectively the distal joint of the fingers and thumb when forces exceeding 2.5% MVC are generated. For the middle, ring and little fingers in particular, movement of adjacent digits may also involve 'in-series' mechanical links between adjacent components of FDP. Images Figure 6 PMID:7837104

Involuntary Neuromuscular Coupling between the Thumb and Finger of Stroke Survivors during Dynamic Movement.

PubMed

Jones, Christopher L; Kamper, Derek G

2018-01-01

Finger-thumb coordination is crucial to manual dexterity but remains incompletely understood, particularly following neurological injury such as stroke. While being controlled independently, the index finger and thumb especially must work in concert to perform a variety of tasks requiring lateral or palmar pinch. The impact of stroke on this functionally critical sensorimotor control during dynamic tasks has been largely unexplored. In this study, we explored finger-thumb coupling during close-open pinching motions in stroke survivors with chronic hemiparesis. Two types of perturbations were applied randomly to the index with a novel Cable-Actuated Finger Exoskeleton: a sudden joint acceleration stretching muscle groups of the index finger and a sudden increase in impedance in selected index finger joint(s). Electromyographic signals for specific thumb and index finger muscles, thumb tip trajectory, and index finger joint angles were recorded during each trial. Joint angle perturbations invoked reflex responses in the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), first dorsal interossei (FDI), and extensor digitorum communis muscles of the index finger and heteronymous reflex responses in flexor pollicis brevis of the thumb ( p  < 0.017). Phase of movement played a role as a faster peak reflex response was observed in FDI during opening than during closing ( p  < 0.002) and direction of perturbations resulted in shorter reflex times for FDS and FDI ( p  < 0.012) for extension perturbations. Surprisingly, when index finger joint impedance was suddenly increased, thumb tip movement was substantially increased, from 2 to 10 cm ( p  < 0.001). A greater effect was seen during the opening phase ( p  < 0.044). Thus, involuntary finger-thumb coupling was present during dynamic movement, with perturbation of the index finger impacting thumb activity. The degree of coupling modulated with the phase of motion. These findings reveal a potential mechanism for direct intervention to improve poststroke hand mobility and provide insight on prospective neurologically oriented therapies.

Finger Forces in Clarinet Playing

PubMed Central

Hofmann, Alex; Goebl, Werner

2016-01-01

Clarinettists close and open multiple tone holes to alter the pitch of the tones. Their fingering technique must be fast, precise, and coordinated with the tongue articulation. In this empirical study, finger force profiles and tongue techniques of clarinet students (N = 17) and professional clarinettists (N = 6) were investigated under controlled performance conditions. First, in an expressive-performance task, eight selected excerpts from the first Weber Concerto were performed. These excerpts were chosen to fit in a 2 × 2 × 2 design (register: low–high; tempo: slow–fast, dynamics: soft–loud). There was an additional condition controlled by the experimenter, which determined the expression levels (low–high) of the performers. Second, a technical-exercise task, an isochronous 23-tone melody was designed that required different effectors to produce the sequence (finger-only, tongue-only, combined tongue-finger actions). The melody was performed in three tempo conditions (slow, medium, fast) in a synchronization-continuation paradigm. Participants played on a sensor-equipped Viennese clarinet, which tracked finger forces and reed oscillations simultaneously. From the data, average finger force (Fmean) and peak force (Fmax) were calculated. The overall finger forces were low (Fmean = 1.17 N, Fmax = 3.05 N) compared to those on other musical instruments (e.g., guitar). Participants applied the largest finger forces during the high expression level performance conditions (Fmean = 1.21 N). For the technical exercise task, timing and articulation information were extracted from the reed signal. Here, the timing precision of the fingers deteriorated the timing precision of the tongue for combined tongue-finger actions, especially for faster tempi. Although individual finger force profiles were overlapping, the group of professional players applied less finger force overall (Fmean = 0.54 N). Such sensor instruments provide useful insights into player-instrument interactions and can also be used in the future to give feedback to students in various learning and practising situations. PMID:27540367

Using Multivariate Regression Model with Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) to Predict the Incidence of Xerostomia after Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer

PubMed Central

Ting, Hui-Min; Chang, Liyun; Huang, Yu-Jie; Wu, Jia-Ming; Wang, Hung-Yu; Horng, Mong-Fong; Chang, Chun-Ming; Lan, Jen-Hong; Huang, Ya-Yu; Fang, Fu-Min; Leung, Stephen Wan

2014-01-01

Purpose The aim of this study was to develop a multivariate logistic regression model with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to make valid predictions about the incidence of moderate-to-severe patient-rated xerostomia among head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with IMRT. Methods and Materials Quality of life questionnaire datasets from 206 patients with HNC were analyzed. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-H&N35 and QLQ-C30 questionnaires were used as the endpoint evaluation. The primary endpoint (grade 3+ xerostomia) was defined as moderate-to-severe xerostomia at 3 (XER3m) and 12 months (XER12m) after the completion of IMRT. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models were developed. The optimal and suboptimal numbers of prognostic factors for a multivariate logistic regression model were determined using the LASSO with bootstrapping technique. Statistical analysis was performed using the scaled Brier score, Nagelkerke R2, chi-squared test, Omnibus, Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and the AUC. Results Eight prognostic factors were selected by LASSO for the 3-month time point: Dmean-c, Dmean-i, age, financial status, T stage, AJCC stage, smoking, and education. Nine prognostic factors were selected for the 12-month time point: Dmean-i, education, Dmean-c, smoking, T stage, baseline xerostomia, alcohol abuse, family history, and node classification. In the selection of the suboptimal number of prognostic factors by LASSO, three suboptimal prognostic factors were fine-tuned by Hosmer-Lemeshow test and AUC, i.e., Dmean-c, Dmean-i, and age for the 3-month time point. Five suboptimal prognostic factors were also selected for the 12-month time point, i.e., Dmean-i, education, Dmean-c, smoking, and T stage. The overall performance for both time points of the NTCP model in terms of scaled Brier score, Omnibus, and Nagelkerke R2 was satisfactory and corresponded well with the expected values. Conclusions Multivariate NTCP models with LASSO can be used to predict patient-rated xerostomia after IMRT. PMID:24586971

Using multivariate regression model with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to predict the incidence of Xerostomia after intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

PubMed

Lee, Tsair-Fwu; Chao, Pei-Ju; Ting, Hui-Min; Chang, Liyun; Huang, Yu-Jie; Wu, Jia-Ming; Wang, Hung-Yu; Horng, Mong-Fong; Chang, Chun-Ming; Lan, Jen-Hong; Huang, Ya-Yu; Fang, Fu-Min; Leung, Stephen Wan

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a multivariate logistic regression model with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to make valid predictions about the incidence of moderate-to-severe patient-rated xerostomia among head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with IMRT. Quality of life questionnaire datasets from 206 patients with HNC were analyzed. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-H&N35 and QLQ-C30 questionnaires were used as the endpoint evaluation. The primary endpoint (grade 3(+) xerostomia) was defined as moderate-to-severe xerostomia at 3 (XER3m) and 12 months (XER12m) after the completion of IMRT. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models were developed. The optimal and suboptimal numbers of prognostic factors for a multivariate logistic regression model were determined using the LASSO with bootstrapping technique. Statistical analysis was performed using the scaled Brier score, Nagelkerke R(2), chi-squared test, Omnibus, Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and the AUC. Eight prognostic factors were selected by LASSO for the 3-month time point: Dmean-c, Dmean-i, age, financial status, T stage, AJCC stage, smoking, and education. Nine prognostic factors were selected for the 12-month time point: Dmean-i, education, Dmean-c, smoking, T stage, baseline xerostomia, alcohol abuse, family history, and node classification. In the selection of the suboptimal number of prognostic factors by LASSO, three suboptimal prognostic factors were fine-tuned by Hosmer-Lemeshow test and AUC, i.e., Dmean-c, Dmean-i, and age for the 3-month time point. Five suboptimal prognostic factors were also selected for the 12-month time point, i.e., Dmean-i, education, Dmean-c, smoking, and T stage. The overall performance for both time points of the NTCP model in terms of scaled Brier score, Omnibus, and Nagelkerke R(2) was satisfactory and corresponded well with the expected values. Multivariate NTCP models with LASSO can be used to predict patient-rated xerostomia after IMRT.

ZifBASE: a database of zinc finger proteins and associated resources.

PubMed

Jayakanthan, Mannu; Muthukumaran, Jayaraman; Chandrasekar, Sanniyasi; Chawla, Konika; Punetha, Ankita; Sundar, Durai

2009-09-09

Information on the occurrence of zinc finger protein motifs in genomes is crucial to the developing field of molecular genome engineering. The knowledge of their target DNA-binding sequences is vital to develop chimeric proteins for targeted genome engineering and site-specific gene correction. There is a need to develop a computational resource of zinc finger proteins (ZFP) to identify the potential binding sites and its location, which reduce the time of in vivo task, and overcome the difficulties in selecting the specific type of zinc finger protein and the target site in the DNA sequence. ZifBASE provides an extensive collection of various natural and engineered ZFP. It uses standard names and a genetic and structural classification scheme to present data retrieved from UniProtKB, GenBank, Protein Data Bank, ModBase, Protein Model Portal and the literature. It also incorporates specialized features of ZFP including finger sequences and positions, number of fingers, physiochemical properties, classes, framework, PubMed citations with links to experimental structures (PDB, if available) and modeled structures of natural zinc finger proteins. ZifBASE provides information on zinc finger proteins (both natural and engineered ones), the number of finger units in each of the zinc finger proteins (with multiple fingers), the synergy between the adjacent fingers and their positions. Additionally, it gives the individual finger sequence and their target DNA site to which it binds for better and clear understanding on the interactions of adjacent fingers. The current version of ZifBASE contains 139 entries of which 89 are engineered ZFPs, containing 3-7F totaling to 296 fingers. There are 50 natural zinc finger protein entries ranging from 2-13F, totaling to 307 fingers. It has sequences and structures from literature, Protein Data Bank, ModBase and Protein Model Portal. The interface is cross linked to other public databases like UniprotKB, PDB, ModBase and Protein Model Portal and PubMed for making it more informative. A database is established to maintain the information of the sequence features, including the class, framework, number of fingers, residues, position, recognition site and physio-chemical properties (molecular weight, isoelectric point) of both natural and engineered zinc finger proteins and dissociation constant of few. ZifBASE can provide more effective and efficient way of accessing the zinc finger protein sequences and their target binding sites with the links to their three-dimensional structures. All the data and functions are available at the advanced web-based search interface http://web.iitd.ac.in/~sundar/zifbase.

Finger vein recognition with personalized feature selection.

PubMed

Xi, Xiaoming; Yang, Gongping; Yin, Yilong; Meng, Xianjing

2013-08-22

Finger veins are a promising biometric pattern for personalized identification in terms of their advantages over existing biometrics. Based on the spatial pyramid representation and the combination of more effective information such as gray, texture and shape, this paper proposes a simple but powerful feature, called Pyramid Histograms of Gray, Texture and Orientation Gradients (PHGTOG). For a finger vein image, PHGTOG can reflect the global spatial layout and local details of gray, texture and shape. To further improve the recognition performance and reduce the computational complexity, we select a personalized subset of features from PHGTOG for each subject by using the sparse weight vector, which is trained by using LASSO and called PFS-PHGTOG. We conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the promise of the PHGTOG and PFS-PHGTOG, experimental results on our databases show that PHGTOG outperforms the other existing features. Moreover, PFS-PHGTOG can further boost the performance in comparison with PHGTOG.

Finger Vein Recognition with Personalized Feature Selection

PubMed Central

Xi, Xiaoming; Yang, Gongping; Yin, Yilong; Meng, Xianjing

2013-01-01

Finger veins are a promising biometric pattern for personalized identification in terms of their advantages over existing biometrics. Based on the spatial pyramid representation and the combination of more effective information such as gray, texture and shape, this paper proposes a simple but powerful feature, called Pyramid Histograms of Gray, Texture and Orientation Gradients (PHGTOG). For a finger vein image, PHGTOG can reflect the global spatial layout and local details of gray, texture and shape. To further improve the recognition performance and reduce the computational complexity, we select a personalized subset of features from PHGTOG for each subject by using the sparse weight vector, which is trained by using LASSO and called PFS-PHGTOG. We conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the promise of the PHGTOG and PFS-PHGTOG, experimental results on our databases show that PHGTOG outperforms the other existing features. Moreover, PFS-PHGTOG can further boost the performance in comparison with PHGTOG. PMID:23974154

[Obtaining the transgenic lines of finger millet Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. With dinitroaniline resistance].

PubMed

Baer, G Ia; Emets, A I; Blium, Ia B

2014-01-01

The current data is dedicated to the study of bioballistic and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of finger millet with the constructs carrying the mutant alpha-tubulin gene (TUAm 1), isolated from R-biotype goosegrass (Eleusine indica L.), for the decision of problem of dinitroaniline-resistance. It was found that 10 microM of trifluralin is optimal for the selection of transgene plants of finger millet. PCR analysis of transformed lines confirmed the transgene nature of plants. The analysis of seed of T1 oftransgene lines confirmed heterozygous character of inheritance of the resistance.

Proportional estimation of finger movements from high-density surface electromyography.

PubMed

Celadon, Nicolò; Došen, Strahinja; Binder, Iris; Ariano, Paolo; Farina, Dario

2016-08-04

The importance to restore the hand function following an injury/disease of the nervous system led to the development of novel rehabilitation interventions. Surface electromyography can be used to create a user-driven control of a rehabilitation robot, in which the subject needs to engage actively, by using spared voluntary activation to trigger the assistance of the robot. The study investigated methods for the selective estimation of individual finger movements from high-density surface electromyographic signals (HD-sEMG) with minimal interference between movements of other fingers. Regression was evaluated in online and offline control tests with nine healthy subjects (per test) using a linear discriminant analysis classifier (LDA), a common spatial patterns proportional estimator (CSP-PE), and a thresholding (THR) algorithm. In all tests, the subjects performed an isometric force tracking task guided by a moving visual marker indicating the contraction type (flexion/extension), desired activation level and the finger that should be moved. The outcome measures were mean square error (nMSE) between the reference and generated trajectories normalized to the peak-to-peak value of the reference, the classification accuracy (CA), the mean amplitude of the false activations (MAFA) and, in the offline tests only, the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCORR). The offline tests demonstrated that, for the reduced number of electrodes (≤24), the CSP-PE outperformed the LDA with higher precision of proportional estimation and less crosstalk between the movement classes (e.g., 8 electrodes, median MAFA ~ 0.6 vs. 1.1 %, median nMSE ~ 4.3 vs. 5.5 %). The LDA and the CSP-PE performed similarly in the online tests (median nMSE < 3.6 %, median MAFA < 0.7 %), but the CSP-PE provided a more stable performance across the tested conditions (less improvement between different sessions). Furthermore, THR, exploiting topographical information about the single finger activity from HD-sEMG, provided in many cases a regression accuracy similar to that of the pattern recognition techniques, but the performance was not consistent across subjects and fingers. The CSP-PE is a method of choice for selective individual finger control with the limited number of electrodes (<24), whereas for the higher resolution of the recording, either method (CPS-PA or LDA) can be used with a similar performance. Despite the abundance of detection points, the simple THR showed to be significantly worse compared to both pattern recognition/regression methods. Nevertheless, THR is a simple method to apply (no training), and it could still give satisfactory performance in some subjects and/or simpler scenarios (e.g., control of selected fingers). These conclusions are important for guiding future developments towards the clinical application of the methods for individual finger control in rehabilitation robotics.

Coincidence avoidance principle in surface haptic interpretation

PubMed Central

Manuel, Steven G.; Klatzky, Roberta L.; Peshkin, Michael A.; Colgate, James Edward

2015-01-01

When multiple fingertips experience force sensations, how does the brain interpret the combined sensation? In particular, under what conditions are the sensations perceived as separate or, alternatively, as an integrated whole? In this work, we used a custom force-feedback device to display force signals to two fingertips (index finger and thumb) as they traveled along collinear paths. Each finger experienced a pattern of forces that, taken individually, produced illusory virtual bumps, and subjects reported whether they felt zero, one, or two bumps. We varied the spatial separation between these bump-like force-feedback regions, from being much greater than the finger span to nearly exactly the finger span. When the bump spacing was the same as the finger span, subjects tended to report only one bump. We found that the results are consistent with a quantitative model of perception in which the brain selects a structural interpretation of force signals that relies on minimizing coincidence stemming from accidental alignments between fingertips and inferred surface structures. PMID:25675477

Prosthetic finger phalanges with lifelike skin compliance for low-force social touching interactions

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Prosthetic arms and hands that can be controlled by the user's electromyography (EMG) signals are emerging. Eventually, these advanced prosthetic devices will be expected to touch and be touched by other people. As realistic as they may look, the currently available prosthetic hands have physical properties that are still far from the characteristics of human skins because they are much stiffer. In this paper, different configurations of synthetic finger phalanges have been investigated for their skin compliance behaviour and have been compared with the phalanges of the human fingers and a phalanx from a commercially available prosthetic hand. Methods Handshake tests were performed to identify which areas on the human hand experience high contact forces. After these areas were determined, experiments were done on selected areas using an indenting probe to obtain the force-displacement curves. Finite element simulations were used to compare the force-displacement results of the synthetic finger phalanx designs with that of the experimental results from the human and prosthetic finger phalanges. The simulation models were used to investigate the effects of (a) varying the internal topology of the finger phalanx and (b) varying different materials for the internal and external layers. Results and Conclusions During handshake, the high magnitudes of contact forces were observed at the areas where the full grasping enclosure of the other person's hand can be achieved. From these areas, the middle phalanges of the (a) little, (b) ring, and (c) middle fingers were selected. The indentation experiments on these areas showed that a 2 N force corresponds to skin tissue displacements of more than 2 mm. The results from the simulation model show that introducing an open pocket with 2 mm height on the internal structure of synthetic finger phalanges increased the skin compliance of the silicone material to 235% and the polyurethane material to 436%, as compared to a configuration with a solid internal geometry. In addition, the study shows that an indentation of 2 N force on the synthetic skin with an open pocket can also achieve a displacement of more than 2 mm, while the finger phalanx from a commercially available prosthetic hand can only achieve 0.2 mm. PMID:21447188

Neural correlates of finger gnosis.

PubMed

Rusconi, Elena; Tamè, Luigi; Furlan, Michele; Haggard, Patrick; Demarchi, Gianpaolo; Adriani, Michela; Ferrari, Paolo; Braun, Christoph; Schwarzbach, Jens

2014-07-02

Neuropsychological studies have described patients with a selective impairment of finger identification in association with posterior parietal lesions. However, evidence of the role of these areas in finger gnosis from studies of the healthy human brain is still scarce. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the brain network engaged in a novel finger gnosis task, the intermanual in-between task (IIBT), in healthy participants. Several brain regions exhibited a stronger blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response in IIBT than in a control task that did not explicitly rely on finger gnosis but used identical stimuli and motor responses as the IIBT. The IIBT involved stronger signal in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral precuneus (PCN), bilateral premotor cortex, and left inferior frontal gyrus. In all regions, stimulation of nonhomologous fingers of the two hands elicited higher BOLD signal than stimulation of homologous fingers. Only in the left anteromedial IPL (a-mIPL) and left PCN did signal strength decrease parametrically from nonhomology, through partial homology, to total homology with stimulation delivered synchronously to the two hands. With asynchronous stimulation, the signal was stronger in the left a-mIPL than in any other region, possibly indicating retention of task-relevant information. We suggest that the left PCN may contribute a supporting visuospatial representation via its functional connection to the right PCN. The a-mIPL may instead provide the core substrate of an explicit bilateral body structure representation for the fingers that when disrupted can produce the typical symptoms of finger agnosia. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/339012-12$15.00/0.

A Multi-Site Study on Medical School Selection, Performance, Motivation and Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wouters, A.; Croiset, G.; Schripsema, N. R.; Cohen-Schotanus, J.; Spaai, G. W.; Hulsman, R. L.; Kusurkar, R. A.

2017-01-01

Medical schools seek ways to improve their admissions strategies, since the available methods prove to be suboptimal for selecting the best and most motivated students. In this multi-site cross-sectional questionnaire study, we examined the value of (different) selection procedures compared to a weighted lottery procedure, which includes direct…

Breastfeeding practices in relation to country of origin among women living in Denmark: a population-based study.

PubMed

Busck-Rasmussen, Marianne; Villadsen, Sarah Fredsted; Norsker, Filippa Nyboe; Mortensen, Laust; Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo

2014-12-01

The objective of this study was to describe breastfeeding practices and to compare the risk of suboptimal breastfeeding of women living in Denmark according to country of origin, and further to examine how socio-economic position and duration of stay in the country affected this risk. Information on breastfeeding of 42,420 infants born 2002-2009 and living in eighteen selected Danish municipalities was collected from the Danish Health Visitor's Child Health Database. The data was linked with data on maternal socio-demographic information from Danish population-covering registries. Suboptimal breastfeeding was defined as <4 months of full breastfeeding as described by the Danish Health and Medicines Authority. We used logistic regression to model the crude associations between suboptimal breastfeeding and country of origin, and taking maternal age and parity, and a variety of parental socio-economic measures into account. Suboptimal breastfeeding was more frequent among non-Western migrant women than among women of Danish origin. Women who were descendants of Turkish and Pakistani immigrants had a higher risk of suboptimal breastfeeding as compared to the group of women who had migrated from the same countries, suggesting that acculturation did not favor breastfeeding. For all but the group of women who had migrated from Pakistan, adjustment for socio-demographic indicators (age, parity, education, attachment to labour market, and income) eliminated the increased risk of suboptimal breastfeeding. There was no evidence for differences in the breastfeeding support provided at hospital level according to migrant status. Suboptimal breastfeeding was more frequent among women who were non-Nordic migrants and descendants of migrants than among women with Danish origin.

Cardiovascular regulation during head-up tilt in healthy 20-30-year-old and 70-75-year-old men.

PubMed

Gabbett, T J; Weston, S B; Barrett, R S; Gass, G C

2001-02-01

This study compared the heart rate, finger arterial pressure (AP) and electromyographic (EMG) activity of selected anti-gravity muscles during the initial and prolonged phases of orthostatic stress in healthy young and older men. Beat-by-beat recordings of heart rate, finger systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and mean AP were made during supine rest and 5 min of 90 degrees head-up tilt (HUT) in 18 young (23+/-1 years) and 15 older (73+/-1 years) men. The EMG activity of the soleus, tibialis anterior and vastus medialis muscles was recorded. During the first 30 s following 90 degrees HUT (immediate response), the young men exhibited significant (P<0.05) decreases in finger systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and mean AP, followed by a sustained increase in finger AP during the 5 min following 90 degrees HUT (prolonged response). The immediate and prolonged finger AP and diastolic pressure responses were not significantly different (P>0.05) from the values at supine rest for the older men. The mean root mean square EMG activity of the soleus, tibialis anterior and vastus medialis muscles during 90 degrees HUT was not significantly different (P>0.05) from that at supine rest for either group. These results demonstrate that, when compared with healthy older men, young men show larger reductions in finger AP during the initial phase of orthostatic stress. However, during the prolonged phase of orthostatic stress, older men maintain resting finger AP, whereas young men demonstrate a reflex overshoot in finger AP. Finally, differences in lower-limb anti-gravity muscle activation do not account for the contrasting finger AP responses of healthy young and older men.

A flap based on the plantar digital artery arch branch to improve appearance of reconstructed fingers: Anatomical and clinical application.

PubMed

Tang, Lin-Feng; Ju, Ji-Hui; Liu, Yue-Fei; Lan, Bo; Hou, Rui-Xing

2018-02-01

To investigate blood supply features of the flap based on the plantar digital artery arch and arch branch artery, and the treatment of outcomes of reconstructed fingers by the plantar digital artery arch branch island flap. Eight fresh foot specimens were employed with red emulsion infusion and microdissection. The vascular organization was observed in the second toe, such as initiation site, the course, and the number of the plantar digital artery arch branch. There were 15 fingers of 13 patients (8 males and 5 females) with finger defects accompanied by toe transfer, using the plantar digital artery arch branch flap inserted in the neck of the second toe to correct the appearance defect caused by a narrow "neck" and a bulbous tip. The intact plantar digital arches were identified in all specimens. The plantar digital artery arch had 5 branches. The range of external diameter of the arch branch was 0.4-0.6 mm. All the plantar digital artery arch branch island flaps and the reconstructed fingers survived. These cases were conducted with a follow-up period for 3-18 months (average, 9 months). All the plantar digital artery arch branch island flaps and reconstructed fingers demonstrated a satisfactory appearance and favorable sense function. The reconstructed finger-tip characteristic was good, with no obvious scar hyperplasia. The range of flexion and extension of reconstructed fingers was favorable as well. The plantar digital artery arch and arch branch artery possess regular vasa vasorum and abundant vascularity. A flap based on the plantar digital artery arch branch is an ideal selection for plastic surgery of reconstructed fingers. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Objective Method for Pain Detection/Diagnosis

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

implications. We developed a prototype of the Finger Sensor by combining a wireless pulse oximeter with the previously discussed Shimmer GSR sensor (Figure...NeuroSky and have executed a Developer Agreement. We elected to use a Bluetooth Finger Pulse Oximeter for recording blood oxygen saturation and... pulse . This pulse oximeter was chosen because it met all five of our selection criterion. The Bluetooth functionality makes it easy for us to

Visual Foraging With Fingers and Eye Gaze

PubMed Central

Thornton, Ian M.; Smith, Irene J.; Chetverikov, Andrey; Kristjánsson, Árni

2016-01-01

A popular model of the function of selective visual attention involves search where a single target is to be found among distractors. For many scenarios, a more realistic model involves search for multiple targets of various types, since natural tasks typically do not involve a single target. Here we present results from a novel multiple-target foraging paradigm. We compare finger foraging where observers cancel a set of predesignated targets by tapping them, to gaze foraging where observers cancel items by fixating them for 100 ms. During finger foraging, for most observers, there was a large difference between foraging based on a single feature, where observers switch easily between target types, and foraging based on a conjunction of features where observers tended to stick to one target type. The pattern was notably different during gaze foraging where these condition differences were smaller. Two conclusions follow: (a) The fact that a sizeable number of observers (in particular during gaze foraging) had little trouble switching between different target types raises challenges for many prominent theoretical accounts of visual attention and working memory. (b) While caveats must be noted for the comparison of gaze and finger foraging, the results suggest that selection mechanisms for gaze and pointing have different operational constraints. PMID:27433323

The effects of vibration-reducing gloves on finger vibration

PubMed Central

Welcome, Daniel E.; Dong, Ren G.; Xu, Xueyan S.; Warren, Christopher; McDowell, Thomas W.

2015-01-01

Vibration-reducing (VR) gloves have been used to reduce the hand-transmitted vibration exposures from machines and powered hand tools but their effectiveness remains unclear, especially for finger protection. The objectives of this study are to determine whether VR gloves can attenuate the vibration transmitted to the fingers and to enhance the understanding of the mechanisms of how these gloves work. Seven adult male subjects participated in the experiment. The fixed factors evaluated include hand force (four levels), glove condition (gel-filled, air bladder, no gloves), and location of the finger vibration measurement. A 3-D laser vibrometer was used to measure the vibrations on the fingers with and without wearing a glove on a 3-D hand-arm vibration test system. This study finds that the effect of VR gloves on the finger vibration depends on not only the gloves but also their influence on the distribution of the finger contact stiffness and the grip effort. As a result, the gloves increase the vibration in the fingertip area but marginally reduce the vibration in the proximal area at some frequencies below 100 Hz. On average, the gloves reduce the vibration of the entire fingers by less than 3% at frequencies below 80 Hz but increase at frequencies from 80 to 400 Hz. At higher frequencies, the gel-filled glove is more effective at reducing the finger vibration than the air bladder-filled glove. The implications of these findings are discussed. Relevance to industry Prolonged, intensive exposure to hand-transmitted vibration can cause hand-arm vibration syndrome. Vibration-reducing gloves have been used as an alternative approach to reduce the vibration exposure. However, their effectiveness for reducing finger-transmitted vibrations remains unclear. This study enhanced the understanding of the glove effects on finger vibration and provided useful information on the effectiveness of typical VR gloves at reducing the vibration transmitted to the fingers. The new results and knowledge can be used to help select appropriate gloves for the operations of powered hand tools, to help perform risk assessment of the vibration exposure, and to help design better VR gloves. PMID:26543297

Molecular basis of ubiquitin recognition by the autophagy receptor CALCOCO2

PubMed Central

Xie, Xingqiao; Li, Faxiang; Wang, Yuanyuan; Wang, Yingli; Lin, Zhijie; Cheng, Xiaofang; Liu, Jianping; Chen, Changbin; Pan, Lifeng

2015-01-01

The autophagy receptor CALCOCO2/NDP52 functions as a bridging adaptor and plays an essential role in the selective autophagic degradation of invading pathogens by specifically recognizing ubiquitin-coated intracellular pathogens and subsequently targeting them to the autophagic machinery; thereby it is required for innate immune defense against a range of infectious pathogens in mammals. However, the mechanistic basis underlying CALCOCO2-mediated specific recognition of ubiqutinated pathogens is still unknown. Here, using biochemical and structural analyses, we demonstrated that the cargo-binding region of CALCOCO2 contains a dynamic unconventional zinc finger as well as a C2H2-type zinc-finger, and only the C2H2-type zinc finger specifically recognizes mono-ubiquitin or poly-ubiquitin chains. In addition to elucidating the specific ubiquitin recognition mechanism of CALCOCO2, the structure of the CALCOCO2 C2H2-type zinc finger in complex with mono-ubiquitin also uncovers a unique zinc finger-binding mode for ubiquitin. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into how CALCOCO2 targets ubiquitin-decorated pathogens for autophagic degradations. PMID:26506893

Direct Coaptation of the Phrenic Nerve With the Posterior Division of the Lower Trunk to Restore Finger and Elbow Extension Function in Patients With Total Brachial Plexus Injuries.

PubMed

Wang, Shu-feng; Li, Peng-cheng; Xue, Yun-hao; Zou, Ji-yao; Li, Wen-jun; Li, Yucheng

2016-02-01

To overcome the mismatch in nerve sizes in phrenic nerve transfer to the radial nerve for elbow and finger extension reanimation for patients with total brachial plexus injuries (TBPI), a selective neurotization procedure was designed. To investigate the long-term results of phrenic nerve transfer to the posterior division of the lower trunk with direct coaptation in restoring elbow and finger extension after TBPI. Phrenic nerve was transferred to and directly coapted with the posterior division of the lower trunk in 27 patients with TBPI. Seven patients were <18 years old (adolescent group), and the remaining 20 patients ≥18 years (adult group). Postoperative mean follow-up period was 54 ± 9 months (range, 48-85 months). The motor function attained M3 or greater in 81.5% of patients for elbow extension and in 48% of patients for finger extension. The percentage of patients who regained M3 or greater muscle power of finger extension in the adolescent group and the adult group was 71.4%, and 40%, respectively. Meanwhile, 85.7% in the adolescent group and 80% in the adult group achieved M3 or greater muscle power of elbow extension. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups. The elbow extension and finger extension were synchronous contractions and did not become independent of respiratory effort. This procedure simultaneously and effectively restores the function of elbow and finger extension in patients after TBPI. However, the patients could not do elbow and finger extension separately.

Polyester non-woven fabric finger cover as a TRUCT Braille reading assistance tool for Braille learners.

PubMed

Doi, Kouki; Fujimoto, Hiroshi

2007-11-01

Transparent resinous ultraviolet-curing type (TRUCT) Braille signs are becoming more and more popular in Japan, especially when they are printed together with visual characters. These signs are made by screen printing, a technique that can be applied to various base materials, such as paper, metal, and plastic. TRUCT Braille signs have begun to be used in public facilities, such as on tactile maps and on handrails. Naturally, it is expected that Braille beginners will utilize these signs. However, it has been pointed out that the friction between the forefinger and the base material may affect reading accuracy and speed. In this study, we developed a finger cover made of soft, thin polyester non-woven fabric to reduce friction during Braille reading. We also carried out a study to investigate the effect of its use. The subjects were 12 Braille learners with acquired visual impairment, who were asked to read randomly selected characters with and without the finger cover. The results showed that most participants could read TRUCT Braille significantly faster and more accurately with a finger cover than without it, regardless of the base material and dot height. This result suggests that wearing the finger cover enables Braille learners to read TRUCT Braille more efficiently. The finger cover can be used as a Braille reading assistance tool for Braille learners. An additional, health-related advantage of the finger cover is that the forefinger remains clean. We expect that the finger cover will be in practical use in Japan within 1 or 2 years.

The genetic map of finger millet, Eleusine coracana.

PubMed

Dida, Mathews M; Srinivasachary; Ramakrishnan, Sujatha; Bennetzen, Jeffrey L; Gale, Mike D; Devos, Katrien M

2007-01-01

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), expressed-sequenced tag (EST), and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to generate a genetic map of the tetraploid finger millet (Eleusine coracana subsp. coracana) genome (2n = 4x = 36). Because levels of variation in finger millet are low, the map was generated in an inter-subspecific F(2) population from a cross between E. coracana subsp. coracana cv. Okhale-1 and its wild progenitor E. coracana subsp. africana acc. MD-20. Duplicated loci were used to identify homoeologous groups. Assignment of linkage groups to the A and B genome was done by comparing the hybridization patterns of probes in Okhale-1, MD-20, and Eleusine indica acc. MD-36. E. indica is the A genome donor to E. coracana. The maps span 721 cM on the A genome and 787 cM on the B genome and cover all 18 finger millet chromosomes, at least partially. To facilitate the use of marker-assisted selection in finger millet, a first set of 82 SSR markers was developed. The SSRs were identified in small-insert genomic libraries generated using methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes. Thirty-one of the SSRs were mapped. Application of the maps and markers in hybridization-based breeding programs will expedite the improvement of finger millet.

Involuntary Neuromuscular Coupling between the Thumb and Finger of Stroke Survivors during Dynamic Movement

PubMed Central

Jones, Christopher L.; Kamper, Derek G.

2018-01-01

Finger–thumb coordination is crucial to manual dexterity but remains incompletely understood, particularly following neurological injury such as stroke. While being controlled independently, the index finger and thumb especially must work in concert to perform a variety of tasks requiring lateral or palmar pinch. The impact of stroke on this functionally critical sensorimotor control during dynamic tasks has been largely unexplored. In this study, we explored finger–thumb coupling during close–open pinching motions in stroke survivors with chronic hemiparesis. Two types of perturbations were applied randomly to the index with a novel Cable-Actuated Finger Exoskeleton: a sudden joint acceleration stretching muscle groups of the index finger and a sudden increase in impedance in selected index finger joint(s). Electromyographic signals for specific thumb and index finger muscles, thumb tip trajectory, and index finger joint angles were recorded during each trial. Joint angle perturbations invoked reflex responses in the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), first dorsal interossei (FDI), and extensor digitorum communis muscles of the index finger and heteronymous reflex responses in flexor pollicis brevis of the thumb (p < 0.017). Phase of movement played a role as a faster peak reflex response was observed in FDI during opening than during closing (p < 0.002) and direction of perturbations resulted in shorter reflex times for FDS and FDI (p < 0.012) for extension perturbations. Surprisingly, when index finger joint impedance was suddenly increased, thumb tip movement was substantially increased, from 2 to 10 cm (p < 0.001). A greater effect was seen during the opening phase (p < 0.044). Thus, involuntary finger–thumb coupling was present during dynamic movement, with perturbation of the index finger impacting thumb activity. The degree of coupling modulated with the phase of motion. These findings reveal a potential mechanism for direct intervention to improve poststroke hand mobility and provide insight on prospective neurologically oriented therapies. PMID:29545767

Analysis of hydrogen isotope mixtures

DOEpatents

Villa-Aleman, Eliel

1994-01-01

An apparatus and method for determining the concentrations of hydrogen isotopes in a sample. Hydrogen in the sample is separated from other elements using a filter selectively permeable to hydrogen. Then the hydrogen is condensed onto a cold finger or cryopump. The cold finger is rotated as pulsed laser energy vaporizes a portion of the condensed hydrogen, forming a packet of molecular hydrogen. The desorbed hydrogen is ionized and admitted into a mass spectrometer for analysis.

SU-E-T-448: Heightened Apical Positivity of 2-Year Post-Radiotherapy Biopsies Is Not Related to Suboptimal Dosimetry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Studenski, M; Stoyanova, R; Abramowitz, M

2015-06-15

Purpose: Previous research has demonstrated that following radiation therapy for prostate cancer, there is a relative increase in positive biopsies in the apex versus the rest of the prostate. The increase could be due to: 1) Inter-fraction apex motion or deformation, 2) Intra-fraction apex motion or deformation, 3) Suboptimal dose coverage in the apex, 4) Tissue composition in the apex and/or 5) Prostate size. In this initial study, the potential for suboptimal dose coverage in the apex was assessed by splitting the prostate planning target volume into the apex (inferior third) and remainder. Methods: 69 patients were selected from 303more » patients treated on a clinical radiotherapy trial for prostate cancer. These patients were selected as they had both a localized (sextant template) 2-year post-treatment biopsy and 3D dose information. Of these patients, 10 had positive biopsies in the apex, 8 in the remainder and 11 in both locations. For all patients, the following dosimetric data was acquired from the apex dose volume histogram: Dmean, Dmax, Dmin, D95% and V100%. Unpaired, one-tailed t-tests were used to test for statistical significance (p < 0.05) between all dosimetric parameters for patients with positive versus negative apical biopsies. Additionally, D95% for the apex was plotted against D95% of the remainder. Results: There was no statistical difference for the selected apical dosimetric parameters for patients with positive versus negative biopsies (p-values > 0.05). No correlation was found between D95% (normalized to the prescription dose) for the apex and remainder (R{sup 2} = 0.0116). Conclusion: No correlation was found between positive apical biopsy and suboptimal dosimetric coverage. Current research is looking into inter-fraction apex motion and deformation as a potential source of the increased apical failure using daily CBCT images.« less

Gene Discovery and Advances in Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Genomics-An Important Nutri-Cereal of Future.

PubMed

Sood, Salej; Kumar, Anil; Babu, B Kalyana; Gaur, Vikram S; Pandey, Dinesh; Kant, Lakshmi; Pattnayak, Arunava

2016-01-01

The rapid strides in molecular marker technologies followed by genomics, and next generation sequencing advancements in three major crops (rice, maize and wheat) of the world have given opportunities for their use in the orphan, but highly valuable future crops, including finger millet [ Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.]. Finger millet has many special agronomic and nutritional characteristics, which make it an indispensable crop in arid, semi-arid, hilly and tribal areas of India and Africa. The crop has proven its adaptability in harsh conditions and has shown resilience to climate change. The adaptability traits of finger millet have shown the advantage over major cereal grains under stress conditions, revealing it as a storehouse of important genomic resources for crop improvement. Although new technologies for genomic studies are now available, progress in identifying and tapping these important alleles or genes is lacking. RAPDs were the default choice for genetic diversity studies in the crop until the last decade, but the subsequent development of SSRs and comparative genomics paved the way for the marker assisted selection in finger millet. Resistance gene homologs from NBS-LRR region of finger millet for blast and sequence variants for nutritional traits from other cereals have been developed and used invariably. Population structure analysis studies exhibit 2-4 sub-populations in the finger millet gene pool with separate grouping of Indian and exotic genotypes. Recently, the omics technologies have been efficiently applied to understand the nutritional variation, drought tolerance and gene mining. Progress has also occurred with respect to transgenics development. This review presents the current biotechnological advancements along with research gaps and future perspective of genomic research in finger millet.

In-silico mining, type and frequency analysis of genic microsatellites of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.): a comparative genomic analysis of NBS-LRR regions of finger millet with rice.

PubMed

Kalyana Babu, B; Pandey, Dinesh; Agrawal, P K; Sood, Salej; Kumar, Anil

2014-05-01

In recent years, the increased availability of the DNA sequences has given the possibility to develop and explore the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) derived SSR markers. In the present study, a total of 1956 ESTs of finger millet were used to find the microsatellite type, distribution, frequency and developed a total of 545 primer pairs from the ESTs of finger millet. Thirty-two EST sequences had more than two microsatellites and 1357 sequences did not have any SSR repeats. The most frequent type of repeats was trimeric motif, however the second place was occupied by dimeric motif followed by tetra-, hexa- and penta repeat motifs. The most common dimer repeat motif was GA and in case of trimeric SSRs, it was CGG. The EST sequences of NBS-LRR region of finger millet and rice showed higher synteny and were found on nearly same positions on the rice chromosome map. A total of eight, out of 15 EST based SSR primers were polymorphic among the selected resistant and susceptible finger millet genotypes. The primer FMBLEST5 could able to differentiate them into resistant and susceptible genotypes. The alleles specific to the resistant and susceptible genotypes were sequenced using the ABI 3130XL genetic analyzer and found similarity to NBS-LRR regions of rice and finger millet and contained the characteristic kinase-2 and kinase 3a motifs of plant R-genes belonged to NBS-LRR region. The In-silico and comparative analysis showed that the genes responsible for blast resistance can be identified, mapped and further introgressed through molecular breeding approaches for enhancing the blast resistance in finger millet.

Gene Discovery and Advances in Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Genomics—An Important Nutri-Cereal of Future

PubMed Central

Sood, Salej; Kumar, Anil; Babu, B. Kalyana; Gaur, Vikram S.; Pandey, Dinesh; Kant, Lakshmi; Pattnayak, Arunava

2016-01-01

The rapid strides in molecular marker technologies followed by genomics, and next generation sequencing advancements in three major crops (rice, maize and wheat) of the world have given opportunities for their use in the orphan, but highly valuable future crops, including finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.]. Finger millet has many special agronomic and nutritional characteristics, which make it an indispensable crop in arid, semi-arid, hilly and tribal areas of India and Africa. The crop has proven its adaptability in harsh conditions and has shown resilience to climate change. The adaptability traits of finger millet have shown the advantage over major cereal grains under stress conditions, revealing it as a storehouse of important genomic resources for crop improvement. Although new technologies for genomic studies are now available, progress in identifying and tapping these important alleles or genes is lacking. RAPDs were the default choice for genetic diversity studies in the crop until the last decade, but the subsequent development of SSRs and comparative genomics paved the way for the marker assisted selection in finger millet. Resistance gene homologs from NBS-LRR region of finger millet for blast and sequence variants for nutritional traits from other cereals have been developed and used invariably. Population structure analysis studies exhibit 2–4 sub-populations in the finger millet gene pool with separate grouping of Indian and exotic genotypes. Recently, the omics technologies have been efficiently applied to understand the nutritional variation, drought tolerance and gene mining. Progress has also occurred with respect to transgenics development. This review presents the current biotechnological advancements along with research gaps and future perspective of genomic research in finger millet. PMID:27881984

The fragrance hand immersion study - an experimental model simulating real-life exposure for allergic contact dermatitis on the hands.

PubMed

Heydorn, S; Menné, T; Andersen, K E; Bruze, M; Svedman, C; Basketter, D; Johansen, J D

2003-06-01

Recently, we showed that 10 x 2% of consecutively patch-tested hand eczema patients had a positive patch test to a selection of fragrances containing fragrances relevant to hand exposure. In this study, we used repeated skin exposure to a patch test-positive fragrance allergen in patients previously diagnosed with hand eczema to explore whether immersion of fingers in a solution with or without the patch-test-positive fragrance allergen would cause or exacerbate hand eczema on the exposed finger. The study was double blinded and randomized. All participants had a positive patch test to either hydroxycitronellal or Lyral (hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde). Each participant immersed a finger from each hand, once a day, in a solution containing the fragrance allergen or placebo. During the first 2 weeks, the concentration of fragrance allergen in the solution was low (approximately 10 p.p.m.), whilst during the following 2 weeks, the concentration was relatively high (approximately 250 p.p.m.), imitating real-life exposure to a household product like dishwashing liquid diluted in water and the undiluted product, respectively. Evaluation was made using a clinical scale and laser Doppler flow meter. 3 of 15 hand eczema patients developed eczema on the finger immersed in the fragrance-containing solution, 3 of 15 on the placebo finger and 3 of 15 on both fingers. Using this experimental exposure model simulating real-life exposure, we found no association between immersion of a finger in a solution containing fragrance and development of clinically visible eczema on the finger in 15 participants previously diagnosed with hand eczema and with a positive patch test to the fragrance in question.

Genetic polymorphisms in MDR1, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genes in a Ghanaian population: a plausible explanation for altered metabolism of ivermectin in humans?

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Ivermectin, a substrate of multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, has been used successfully in the treatment of onchocerciasis in Ghana. However, there have been reports of suboptimal response in some patients after repeated treatment. Polymorphisms in host MDR1 and CYP3A genes may explain the observed suboptimal response to ivermectin. We genotyped relevant functional polymorphisms of MDR1 and CYP3A in a random sample of healthy Ghanaians and compared the data with that of ivermectin-treated patients with a view to exploring the relationship between suboptimal response to ivermectin and MDR1 and CYP3A allelic frequencies. Methods Using PCR-RFLP, relevant polymorphic alleles of MDR1 and CYP3A4 genes were analysed in 204 randomly selected individuals and in 42 ivermectin treated patients. Results We recorded significantly higher MDR1 (3435T) variant allele frequency in suboptimal responders (21%) than in patients who responded to treatment (12%) or the random population sample (11%). CYP3A4*1B, CYP3A5*3 and CYP3A5*6 alleles were detected at varied frequencies for the sampled Ghanaian population, responders and suboptimal responders to ivermectin. CYP3A5*1/CYP3A5*1 and CYP3A5*1/CYP3A5*3 genotypes were also found to be significantly different for responders and suboptimal responders. Haplotype (*1/*1/*3/*1) was determined to be significantly different between responders and suboptimal responders indicating a possible role of these haplotypes in treatment response with ivermectin. Conclusion A profile of pharmacogenetically relevant variants for MDR1, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genes has been generated for a random population of 204 Ghanaians to address the scarcity of data within indigenous African populations. In 42 patients treated with ivermectin, difference in MDR1 variant allele frequency was observed between suboptimal responders and responders. PMID:20630055

Genetic polymorphisms in MDR1, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genes in a Ghanaian population: a plausible explanation for altered metabolism of ivermectin in humans?

PubMed

Kudzi, William; Dodoo, Alexander N O; Mills, Jeremy J

2010-07-14

Ivermectin, a substrate of multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, has been used successfully in the treatment of onchocerciasis in Ghana. However, there have been reports of suboptimal response in some patients after repeated treatment. Polymorphisms in host MDR1 and CYP3A genes may explain the observed suboptimal response to ivermectin. We genotyped relevant functional polymorphisms of MDR1 and CYP3A in a random sample of healthy Ghanaians and compared the data with that of ivermectin-treated patients with a view to exploring the relationship between suboptimal response to ivermectin and MDR1 and CYP3A allelic frequencies. Using PCR-RFLP, relevant polymorphic alleles of MDR1 and CYP3A4 genes were analysed in 204 randomly selected individuals and in 42 ivermectin treated patients. We recorded significantly higher MDR1 (3435T) variant allele frequency in suboptimal responders (21%) than in patients who responded to treatment (12%) or the random population sample (11%). CYP3A4*1B, CYP3A5*3 and CYP3A5*6 alleles were detected at varied frequencies for the sampled Ghanaian population, responders and suboptimal responders to ivermectin. CYP3A5*1/CYP3A5*1 and CYP3A5*1/CYP3A5*3 genotypes were also found to be significantly different for responders and suboptimal responders. Haplotype (*1/*1/*3/*1) was determined to be significantly different between responders and suboptimal responders indicating a possible role of these haplotypes in treatment response with ivermectin. A profile of pharmacogenetically relevant variants for MDR1, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genes has been generated for a random population of 204 Ghanaians to address the scarcity of data within indigenous African populations. In 42 patients treated with ivermectin, difference in MDR1 variant allele frequency was observed between suboptimal responders and responders.

[cDNA library construction from panicle meristem of finger millet].

PubMed

Radchuk, V; Pirko, Ia V; Isaenkov, S V; Emets, A I; Blium, Ia B

2014-01-01

The protocol for production of full-size cDNA using SuperScript Full-Length cDNA Library Construction Kit II (Invitrogen) was tested and high quality cDNA library from meristematic tissue of finger millet panicle (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) was created. The titer of obtained cDNA library comprised 3.01 x 10(5) CFU/ml in avarage. In average the length of cDNA insertion consisted about 1070 base pairs, the effectivity of cDNA fragment insertions--99.5%. The selective sequencing of cDNA clones from created library was performed. The sequences of cDNA clones were identified with usage of BLAST-search. The results of cDNA library analysis and selective sequencing represents prove good functionality and full length character of inserted cDNA clones. Obtained cDNA library from meristematic tissue of finger millet panicle represents good and valuable source for isolation and identification of key genes regulating metabolism and meristematic development and for mining of new molecular markers to conduct out high quality genetic investigations and molecular breeding as well.

Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions.

PubMed

Van Den Boomen, Carlijn; Fahrenfort, Johannes J; Snijders, Tineke M; Kemner, Chantal

2015-01-01

Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain, using electroencephalography (EEG). Surface segmentation and category content were both manipulated using texture-defined objects, including faces. This allowed us to study brain activity related to segmentation and to categorization. In the main experiment, participants viewed texture-defined objects for a duration of 800 ms. EEG results revealed that segmentation-related responses precede category-selective responses. Three additional experiments revealed that the presence and timing of categorization depends on stimulus properties and presentation duration. Photographic objects were presented for a long and short (92 ms) duration and evoked fast category-selective responses in both cases. On the other hand, presentation of texture-defined objects for a short duration only evoked segmentation-related but no category-selective responses. Category-selective responses were much slower when evoked by texture-defined than by photographic objects. We suggest that in case of categorization of objects under suboptimal conditions, such as when low-level stimulus properties are not sufficient for fast object categorization, segmentation facilitates the slower categorization process.

Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions

PubMed Central

Van Den Boomen, Carlijn; Fahrenfort, Johannes J.; Snijders, Tineke M.; Kemner, Chantal

2015-01-01

Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain, using electroencephalography (EEG). Surface segmentation and category content were both manipulated using texture-defined objects, including faces. This allowed us to study brain activity related to segmentation and to categorization. In the main experiment, participants viewed texture-defined objects for a duration of 800 ms. EEG results revealed that segmentation-related responses precede category-selective responses. Three additional experiments revealed that the presence and timing of categorization depends on stimulus properties and presentation duration. Photographic objects were presented for a long and short (92 ms) duration and evoked fast category-selective responses in both cases. On the other hand, presentation of texture-defined objects for a short duration only evoked segmentation-related but no category-selective responses. Category-selective responses were much slower when evoked by texture-defined than by photographic objects. We suggest that in case of categorization of objects under suboptimal conditions, such as when low-level stimulus properties are not sufficient for fast object categorization, segmentation facilitates the slower categorization process. PMID:26074838

A study of tapping by the unaffected finger of patients presenting with central and peripheral nerve damage.

PubMed

Zhang, Lingli; Han, Xiuying; Li, Peihong; Liu, Yang; Zhu, Yulian; Zou, Jun; Yu, Zhusheng

2015-01-01

Whether the unaffected function of the hand of patients presenting with nerve injury is affected remains inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate whether there are differences in finger tapping following central or peripheral nerve injury compared with the unaffected hand and the ipsilateral hand of a healthy subject. Thirty right brain stroke patients with hemiplegia, 30 left arm peripheral nerve injury cases, and 60 healthy people were selected. We tested finger tapping of the right hands, and each subject performed the test twice. Finger tapping following peripheral nerve injury as compared with the unaffected hand and the dominant hand of a healthy person was markedly higher than was found for central nerve injury (P < 0.05). Finger tapping of the male peripheral group's unaffected hand and the control group's dominant hand was significantly higher than the central group (P < 0.001). However, finger tapping of the female control group's dominant hand was significantly higher than the central group's unaffected hand (P < 0.01, P = 0.002), the peripheral group's unaffected hand (P < 0.05, P = 0.034). The unaffected function of the hand of patients with central and peripheral nerve injury was different as compared with the ipsilateral hand of healthy individuals. The rehabilitation therapist should intensify the practice of normal upper limb fine activities and coordination of the patient.

Effect of ambient temperature on the thermal profile of the human forearm, hand, and fingers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, L. D.; Williams, B. A.

1976-01-01

Forearm, hand, and finger skin temperatures were measured on the right and left sides of seven resting men. The purpose was to determine the bilateral symmetry of these segmental temperature profiles at ambient temperatures from 10 to 45 C. Thermistors placed on the right and left forearms, hands, and index fingers were used to monitor the subjects until equilibration was reached at each ambient temperature. Additionally, thermal profiles of both hands were measured with copper-constantan thermocouples. During one experimental condition (23 C ambient), rectal, ear canal, and 24 skin temperatures were measured on each subject. Average body and average skin temperatures are given for each subject at the 23 C ambient condition. Detailed thermal profiles are also presented for the dorsal, ventral, and circumferential left forearm, hand, and finger skin temperatures at 23 C ambient. No significant differences were found between the mean skin temperatures of the right and left contralateral segments at any of the selected ambient temperatures.

Sub-Optimal Breastfeeding and Its Associated Factors in Rural Communities of Hula District, Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Hoche, Shibru; Meshesha, Berhan; Wakgari, Negash

2018-01-01

Sub-optimal breast feeding contributed a significant number of infants' death. Although breast feeding is universal in Ethiopia, the practice is not optimal. Hence, this study assessed the prevalence of sub-optimal breast feeding practice and its associated factors in rural communities of Hula District, Southern Ethiopia. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 634 women with infants aged 6 to 12 months. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select study subjects. Interviewer administered structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of delayed initiation of breastfeeding and non-exclusive breastfeeding. The prevalence of suboptimal breast feeding of infants was found to be 56.9%. Nearly half (49.4%) of the mothers delayed initiation of breast feeding, and 13.4% of the infants were fed breast non-exclusively. Having formal education [AOR: 1.74; 95% CI (1.17, 2.59)], family size < 5 [AOR=1.59; 95% CI (1.03, 2.45)], having one under five child [AOR=1.88; 95% CI (1.29, 2.75)], lower number of antenatal care visits [AOR= 2.40; 95% CI (1.68, 3.43)] and lack of counseling on breastfeeding [AOR= 1.69; 95% CI (1.19, 2.41)] were negatively associated with delayed initiation of breast feeding. Similarly, not attending formal education, low birth order and lack of knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding were also negatively associated with exclusive breastfeeding practice. In this study, sub-optimal breast feeding was found to be high. Delayed initiation and non-exclusive breastfeeding practices were major contributors to sub-optimal breast feeding.

Fingerprints as an Alternative Method to Determine ABO and Rh Blood Groups.

PubMed

Chaudhary, Sonam; Deuja, Sajana; Alam, Munna; Karmacharya, Poonam; Mondal, Monami

2017-01-01

Blood grouping is conventionally done with invasive method by taking blood samples. The objective of this study is to determine blood group with uninvasive procedure by taking fingerprints of the participants and know the associations between their fingerprints and blood groups. Seven hundred participants of both genders with no any age limitation from Manipal Teaching Hospital and Manipal College of Medical Sciences were randomly selected. The blood grouping was done by cross reacting blood sample with the antibodies. The fingerprints were taken with the help of stamp pad imprinting the finger ridges over A4 size white papers. The loop, whorl and arch patterns were studied. O+ve blood group 224 (32%) was most prevalent among 700 participants. The loop pattern was highly distributed 3708 (53%) in all blood groups except in A-ve blood group with highest distribution of whorl 20 (40%). The mean comparisons of specific fingerprint in total and also in individual fingers with different ABO and ABO-Rh blood groups showed no any statistical association with P>0.05. However, the loop distribution in individual finger was highest in right middle finger (M) of B-ve blood group 5 (10%). The whorl distribution in individual finger was highest in right index (I), left thumb (T) and left ring (R) fingers of AB+ve blood group 20 (5.5% each). Similarly, the arch distribution was highest in right index fingers of A-ve blood group 3 (6%). The mean comparison of different fingerprints with ABO and Rh blood groups showed no significant statistical association concluding fingerprints cannot be used for blood grouping.

The challenge of non-invasive cognitive physiology of the human brain: how to negotiate the irrelevant background noise without spoiling the recorded data through electronic averaging.

PubMed

Tomberg, C; Desmedt, J E

1999-07-29

Brain mechanisms involved in selective attention in humans can be studied by measures of regional blood flow and metabolism (by positron emission tomography) which help identify the various locations with enhanced activities over a period of time of seconds. The physiological measures provided by scalp-recorded brain electrical potentials have a better resolution (milliseconds) and can reveal the actual sequences of distinct neural events and their precise timing. We studied selective attention to sensory inputs from fingers because the brain somatic representations are deployed over the brain convexity under the scalp thereby making it possible to assess distinct stages of cortical processing and representation through their characteristic scalp topographies. In the electrical response to a finger input attended by the subject, the well-known P300 manifests a widespread inhibitory mechanism which is released after a target stimulus has been identified. P300 is preceded by distinct cognitive electrogeneses such as P40, P100 and N140 which can be differentiated from the control (obligatory) profile by superimposition or electronic subtraction. The first cortical response N20 is stable across conditions, suggesting that the first afferent thalamocortical volley is not affected by selective attention. At the next stage of modality-specific cortex in which the sensory features are processed and represented, responses were enhanced (cognitive P40) only a very few milliseconds after arrival of the afferent volley at the cortex, thus documenting a remarkable precocity of attention gain control in the somatic modality. The physiology of selective attention also provides useful cues in relation to non-target inputs which the subject must differentiate in order to perform the task. When having to tell fingers apart, the brain strategy for non-target fingers is not to inhibit or filter them out, but rather to submit their input to several processing operations that are actually enhanced when the discrimination from targets becomes more difficult. While resolving a number of such issues, averaged data cannot disclose the flexibility of brain mechanisms nor the detailed features of cognitive electrogeneses because response variations along time have been ironed out by the bulk treatment. We attempted to address the remarkable versatility of humans in dealing with their sensory environment under ecological conditions by studying single non-averaged responses. We identified distinct cognitive P40, P100, N140 and P300 electrogeneses in spite of the noise by numerically assessing their characteristic scalp topography signatures. Single-trial data suggest reconsiderations of current psychophysiological issues. The study of non-averaged responses can clarify issues raised by averaging studies as illustrated by our recent study of cognitive brain potentials for finger stimuli which remain outside the subject's awareness. This has to do with the physiological basis of the 'cognitive unconscious', that is, current mental processes lying on the fringe or outside of phenomenal awareness and voluntary control, but which can influence ongoing behaviour. Averaged data suggest that, in selective auditory attention, the subject may not notice mild concomitant finger inputs. The study of non-averaged responses documents the optional and independent occurrence of the cognitive P40, P100 and N140 (but not P300) electrogeneses while the finger inputs remain outside phenomenal awareness. These results suggest that the subject unconsciously assigns limited cognitive resources to distinct somatic cortical areas thereby submitting finger inputs to an intermittent curtailed surveillance which can remain on the fringe or outside consciousness. The study of cognitive electrogeneses in single non-averaged responses is making possible a neurophysiology of cognition in real time.

Stretch force guides finger-like pattern of bone formation in suture

PubMed Central

Kou, Xiao-Xing; Zhang, Ci; Zhang, Yi-Mei; Cui, Zhen; Wang, Xue-Dong; Liu, Yan; Liu, Da-Wei; Zhou, Yan-Heng

2017-01-01

Mechanical tension is widely applied on the suture to modulate the growth of craniofacial bones. Deeply understanding the features of bone formation in expanding sutures could help us to improve the outcomes of clinical treatment and avoid some side effects. Although there are reports that have uncovered some biological characteristics, the regular pattern of sutural bone formation in response to expansion forces is still unknown. Our study was to investigate the shape, arrangement and orientation of new bone formation in expanding sutures and explore related clinical implications. The premaxillary sutures of rat, which histologically resembles the sutures of human beings, became wider progressively under stretch force. Micro-CT detected new bones at day 3. Morphologically, these bones were forming in a finger-like pattern, projecting from the maxillae into the expanded sutures. There were about 4 finger-like bones appearing on the selected micro-CT sections at day 3 and this number increased to about 18 at day 7. The average length of these projections increased from 0.14 mm at day 3 to 0.81 mm at day 7. The volume of these bony protuberances increased to the highest level of 0.12 mm3 at day 7. HE staining demonstrated that these finger-like bones had thick bases connecting with the maxillae and thin fronts stretching into the expanded suture. Nasal sections had a higher frequency of finger-like bones occuring than the oral sections at day 3 and day 5. Masson-stained sections showed stretched fibers embedding into maxillary margins. Osteocalcin-positive osteoblasts changed their shapes from cuboidal to spindle and covered the surfaces of finger-like bones continuously. Alizarin red S and calcein deposited in the inner and outer layers of finger-like bones respectively, which showed that longer and larger bones formed on the nasal side of expanded sutures compared with the oral side. Interestingly, these finger-like bones were almost paralleling with the direction of stretch force. Inclined force led to inclined finger-like bones formation and deflection of bilateral maxillae. Additionally, heavily compressive force caused fracture of finger-like bones in the sutures. These data together proposed the special finger-like pattern of bone formation in sutures guided by stretch force, providing important implications for maxillary expansion. PMID:28472133

The extent of variation in salinity tolerance of the minicore collection of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) germplasm.

PubMed

Krishnamurthy, Lakshmanan; Upadhyaya, Hari Deo; Purushothaman, Ramamoorthy; Gowda, Cholenahalli Lakkegowda Laxmipathi; Kashiwagi, Junichi; Dwivedi, Sangam Lal; Singh, Sube; Vadez, Vincent

2014-10-01

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) ranks third in production among the dry land cereals. It is widely cultivated in Africa and South Asia where soil salinization is a major production constraint. It is a potential crop for salt affected soils. To identify salt tolerant germplasm, the minicore finger millet germplasm (n=80) was screened for grain yield performance in a soil saturated with NaCl solution of 100 or 125mM. Genotype effect was significant for most traits, while salinity×genotype interaction was significant only in one year. Salinity delayed phenology, marginally reduced shoot biomass and grain yield. There was a large range of genotypic variation in grain yield under salinity and other traits. The yield loss was higher in accessions with prolific growth and yield potential was associated with saline yields. Based on saline yields, accessions were grouped in to four groups and the top tolerant group had 22 accessions with IE 4797 remaining at the top. Salinity had no adverse impact on grain yield of five accessions. Root anatomy in selected genotype of pearl and finger millet showed presence of porous cortex and well fortified endodermis in finger millet that can exclude Na(+) and enhance N absorption. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Finger muscle attachments for an OpenSim upper-extremity model.

PubMed

Lee, Jong Hwa; Asakawa, Deanna S; Dennerlein, Jack T; Jindrich, Devin L

2015-01-01

We determined muscle attachment points for the index, middle, ring and little fingers in an OpenSim upper-extremity model. Attachment points were selected to match both experimentally measured locations and mechanical function (moment arms). Although experimental measurements of finger muscle attachments have been made, models differ from specimens in many respects such as bone segment ratio, joint kinematics and coordinate system. Likewise, moment arms are not available for all intrinsic finger muscles. Therefore, it was necessary to scale and translate muscle attachments from one experimental or model environment to another while preserving mechanical function. We used a two-step process. First, we estimated muscle function by calculating moment arms for all intrinsic and extrinsic muscles using the partial velocity method. Second, optimization using Simulated Annealing and Hooke-Jeeves algorithms found muscle-tendon paths that minimized root mean square (RMS) differences between experimental and modeled moment arms. The partial velocity method resulted in variance accounted for (VAF) between measured and calculated moment arms of 75.5% on average (range from 48.5% to 99.5%) for intrinsic and extrinsic index finger muscles where measured data were available. RMS error between experimental and optimized values was within one standard deviation (S.D) of measured moment arm (mean RMS error = 1.5 mm < measured S.D = 2.5 mm). Validation of both steps of the technique allowed for estimation of muscle attachment points for muscles whose moment arms have not been measured. Differences between modeled and experimentally measured muscle attachments, averaged over all finger joints, were less than 4.9 mm (within 7.1% of the average length of the muscle-tendon paths). The resulting non-proprietary musculoskeletal model of the human fingers could be useful for many applications, including better understanding of complex multi-touch and gestural movements.

Finger Muscle Attachments for an OpenSim Upper-Extremity Model

PubMed Central

Lee, Jong Hwa; Asakawa, Deanna S.; Dennerlein, Jack T.; Jindrich, Devin L.

2015-01-01

We determined muscle attachment points for the index, middle, ring and little fingers in an OpenSim upper-extremity model. Attachment points were selected to match both experimentally measured locations and mechanical function (moment arms). Although experimental measurements of finger muscle attachments have been made, models differ from specimens in many respects such as bone segment ratio, joint kinematics and coordinate system. Likewise, moment arms are not available for all intrinsic finger muscles. Therefore, it was necessary to scale and translate muscle attachments from one experimental or model environment to another while preserving mechanical function. We used a two-step process. First, we estimated muscle function by calculating moment arms for all intrinsic and extrinsic muscles using the partial velocity method. Second, optimization using Simulated Annealing and Hooke-Jeeves algorithms found muscle-tendon paths that minimized root mean square (RMS) differences between experimental and modeled moment arms. The partial velocity method resulted in variance accounted for (VAF) between measured and calculated moment arms of 75.5% on average (range from 48.5% to 99.5%) for intrinsic and extrinsic index finger muscles where measured data were available. RMS error between experimental and optimized values was within one standard deviation (S.D) of measured moment arm (mean RMS error = 1.5 mm < measured S.D = 2.5 mm). Validation of both steps of the technique allowed for estimation of muscle attachment points for muscles whose moment arms have not been measured. Differences between modeled and experimentally measured muscle attachments, averaged over all finger joints, were less than 4.9 mm (within 7.1% of the average length of the muscle-tendon paths). The resulting non-proprietary musculoskeletal model of the human fingers could be useful for many applications, including better understanding of complex multi-touch and gestural movements. PMID:25853869

Viral RNA annealing activities of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleocapsid protein require only peptide domains outside the zinc fingers.

PubMed Central

De Rocquigny, H; Gabus, C; Vincent, A; Fournié-Zaluski, M C; Roques, B; Darlix, J L

1992-01-01

The nucleocapsid (NC) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 consists of a large number of NC protein molecules, probably wrapping the dimeric RNA genome within the virion inner core. NC protein is a gag-encoded product that contains two zinc fingers flanked by basic residues. In human immunodeficiency virus type 1 virions, NCp15 is ultimately processed into NCp7 and p6 proteins. During virion assembly the retroviral NC protein is necessary for core formation and genomic RNA encapsidation, which are essential for virus infectivity. In vitro NCp15 activates viral RNA dimerization, a process most probably linked in vivo to genomic RNA packaging, and replication primer tRNA(Lys,3) annealing to the initiation site of reverse transcription. To characterize the domains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 NC protein necessary for its various functions, the 72-amino acid NCp7 and several derived peptides were synthesized in a pure form. We show here that synthetic NCp7 with or without the two zinc fingers has the RNA annealing activities of NCp15. Further deletions of the N-terminal 12 and C-terminal 8 amino acids, leading to a 27-residue peptide lacking the finger domains, have little or no effect on NC protein activity in vitro. However deletion of short sequences containing basic residues flanking the first finger leads to a complete loss of NC protein activity. It is proposed that the basic residues and the zinc fingers cooperate to select and package the genomic RNA in vivo. Inhibition of the viral RNA binding and annealing activities associated with the basic residues flanking the first zinc finger of NC protein could therefore be used as a model for the design of antiviral agents. Images PMID:1631144

Viral RNA annealing activities of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleocapsid protein require only peptide domains outside the zinc fingers.

PubMed

De Rocquigny, H; Gabus, C; Vincent, A; Fournié-Zaluski, M C; Roques, B; Darlix, J L

1992-07-15

The nucleocapsid (NC) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 consists of a large number of NC protein molecules, probably wrapping the dimeric RNA genome within the virion inner core. NC protein is a gag-encoded product that contains two zinc fingers flanked by basic residues. In human immunodeficiency virus type 1 virions, NCp15 is ultimately processed into NCp7 and p6 proteins. During virion assembly the retroviral NC protein is necessary for core formation and genomic RNA encapsidation, which are essential for virus infectivity. In vitro NCp15 activates viral RNA dimerization, a process most probably linked in vivo to genomic RNA packaging, and replication primer tRNA(Lys,3) annealing to the initiation site of reverse transcription. To characterize the domains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 NC protein necessary for its various functions, the 72-amino acid NCp7 and several derived peptides were synthesized in a pure form. We show here that synthetic NCp7 with or without the two zinc fingers has the RNA annealing activities of NCp15. Further deletions of the N-terminal 12 and C-terminal 8 amino acids, leading to a 27-residue peptide lacking the finger domains, have little or no effect on NC protein activity in vitro. However deletion of short sequences containing basic residues flanking the first finger leads to a complete loss of NC protein activity. It is proposed that the basic residues and the zinc fingers cooperate to select and package the genomic RNA in vivo. Inhibition of the viral RNA binding and annealing activities associated with the basic residues flanking the first zinc finger of NC protein could therefore be used as a model for the design of antiviral agents.

Ultimate explanations and suboptimal choice.

PubMed

Vasconcelos, Marco; Machado, Armando; Pandeirada, Josefa N S

2018-07-01

Researchers have unraveled multiple cases in which behavior deviates from rationality principles. We propose that such deviations are valuable tools to understand the adaptive significance of the underpinning mechanisms. To illustrate, we discuss in detail an experimental protocol in which animals systematically incur substantial foraging losses by preferring a lean but informative option over a rich but non-informative one. To understand how adaptive mechanisms may fail to maximize food intake, we review a model inspired by optimal foraging principles that reconciles sub-optimal choice with the view that current behavioral mechanisms were pruned by the optimizing action of natural selection. To move beyond retrospective speculation, we then review critical tests of the model, regarding both its assumptions and its (sometimes counterintuitive) predictions, all of which have been upheld. The overall contention is that (a) known mechanisms can be used to develop better ultimate accounts and that (b) to understand why mechanisms that generate suboptimal behavior evolved, we need to consider their adaptive value in the animal's characteristic ecology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Finger materials for air cushion vehicles. Volume 1: Flexible coatings for finger materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conn, P. K.; Snell, I. C.; Klemens, W.

1984-12-01

Twenty polymer formulations from ten selected gum rubber polymers or polymer blends and fourteen formulations of castable liquid polyurethane polymers were characterized as coatings for the coated fabric that is the type material used to make flexible fingers for air cushion vehicles. The formulations were screened for crack growth and flexural fatigue resistance; the results were compared to results from a natural rubber/cisabutadiene blend control coating. In addition, selected polymers were evaluated with primary and secondary characterization tests and the results compared to results from the control formulation. One polymer also was used to evaluate the use of a reticulated carbon black to improve thermal conductivity. Several polymers had better crack growth resistance and a number had better flexural fatique resistance than the control polymer. A clorinated polyethylene polymer coated on nylon fabric had properties equivalent to the control polymer coated on nylon fabric. Hysteresis tests at different rates of deformation yielded results which suggested that the standard tests may not identify polymers with improved performance on air cushion vehicles. Woven fabric, knit, and mat structures were evaluated as reinforcements for polymer coatings; the knit and mat structures were not as efficient on a strength-to-weight basis as woven fabrics.

Analytic theory of the selection mechanism in the Saffman-Taylor problem. [concerning shape of fingers in Hele-Shaw cell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, D. C.; Langer, J. S.

1986-01-01

An analytic approach to the problem of predicting the widths of fingers in a Hele-Shaw cell is presented. The analysis is based on the WKB technique developed recently for dealing with the effects of surface tension in the problem of dendritic solidification. It is found that the relation between the dimensionless width lambda and the dimensionless group of parameters containing the surface tension, nu, has the form lambda - 1/2 = nu exp 2/3 in the limit of small nu.

Erosion waves: Transverse instabilities and fingering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malloggi, F.; Lanuza, J.; Andreotti, B.; Clément, E.

2006-09-01

Two laboratory scale experiments of dry and underwater avalanches of non-cohesive granular materials are investigated. We trigger solitary waves and study the conditions under which the front is transversally stable. We show the existence of a linear instability followed by a coarsening dynamics and finally the onset of a fingering pattern. Due to the different operating conditions, both experiments strongly differ by the spatial and time scales involved. Nevertheless, the quantitative agreement between the stability diagram, the wavelengths selected and the avalanche morphology suggest a common scenario for an erosion/deposition process.

Hepatic metabolite profiles in mice with a suboptimal selenium status.

PubMed

Geillinger, Kerstin E; Rathmann, Daniel; Köhrle, Josef; Fiamoncini, Jarlei; Daniel, Hannelore; Kipp, Anna P

2014-09-01

Selenium is an essential trace element and mediates its functions via various selenoproteins such as glutathione peroxidases or thioredoxin reductases. A suboptimal selenium supply causes metabolic disturbances and is associated with an increased risk to develop different disorders, including cancer or cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to assess the impact of a suboptimal selenium status on the hepatic metabolome of male mice analyzed by a targeted liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and a method based on non-targeted gas chromatography hyphenated with mass spectrometry. Feeding animals a diet with about half of the recommended selenium content supplied as selenomethionine caused liver glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase activities to decline and lipid peroxidation to increase. Serum T3 thyroid hormone concentration also declined via a reduced hepatic deiodinase activity. Metabolite profiling revealed predominantly changes in cysteine and carbon-1 metabolism as well as in selected lipid subclasses. In particular the concentrations of palmitoylcarnitines and oleoylcarnitines (C18:1 and C16:1) and various phosphatidylcholine species containing saturated fatty acids were elevated. Increased taurine levels suggested an enhanced cysteine flux through the salvage pathway whereas increased homocysteine levels appeared to be a consequence of a massive down-regulation of cystathionine β lyase (cystathionine β synthase) and a reduced flux through the transsulfuration pathway. The findings demonstrate that a suboptimal selenium status causes alterations in lipid and carbon-1 metabolism in mouse liver. These changes may contribute to the development of diseases associated with a suboptimal selenium status. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear electrokinetic phenomena in microfluidic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben, Yuxing

This thesis addresses nonlinear electrokinetic mechanisms for transporting fluid and particles in microfluidic devices for potential applications in biomedical chips, microelectronic cooling and micro-fuel cells. Nonlinear electrokinetics have many advantages, such as low voltage, low power, high velocity, and no significant gas formation in the electrolyte. However, they involve new and complex charging and flow mechanisms that are still not fully understood or explored. Linear electrokinetic fingering that occurs when a fluid with a lower electrolyte concentration advances into one with a higher concentration is first analyzed. Unlike earlier miscible fingering theories, the linear stability analysis is carried out in the self-similar coordinates of the diffusing front. This new spectral theory is developed for small-amplitude gravity and viscous miscible fingering phenomena in general and applied to electrokinetic miscible fingering specifically. Transient electrokinetic fingering is shown to be insignificant in sub-millimeter micro-devices. Nonlinear electroosmotic flow around an ion-exchange spherical granule is studied next. When an electric field is applied across a conducting and ion-selective porous granule in an electrolyte solution, a polarized surface layer with excess counter-ions is created. The flux-induced polarization produces a nonlinear slip velocity to produce micro-vortices around this sphere. This polarization layer is reduced by convection at high velocity. Two velocity scalings at low and high electric fields are derived and favorably compared with experimental results. A mixing device based on this mechanism is shown to produce mixing efficiency 10-100 times higher than molecular diffusion. Finally, AC nonlinear electrokinetic flow on planar electrodes is studied. Two double layer charging mechanisms are responsible for the flow---one due to capacitive charging of ions from the bulk electrolyte and one due to Faradaic reactions at the electrode that consume or produce ions in the double layer. Faradaic charging is analyzed for specific reactions. From the theory, particular electrokinetic flows above the electrodes are selected for micropumps and bioparticle trapping by specifying the electrode geometry and the applied voltage and frequency.

Structural insights into the evolution of a sexy protein: novel topology and restricted backbone flexibility in a hypervariable pheromone from the red-legged salamander, Plethodon shermani.

PubMed

Wilburn, Damien B; Bowen, Kathleen E; Doty, Kari A; Arumugam, Sengodagounder; Lane, Andrew N; Feldhoff, Pamela W; Feldhoff, Richard C

2014-01-01

In response to pervasive sexual selection, protein sex pheromones often display rapid mutation and accelerated evolution of corresponding gene sequences. For proteins, the general dogma is that structure is maintained even as sequence or function may rapidly change. This phenomenon is well exemplified by the three-finger protein (TFP) superfamily: a diverse class of vertebrate proteins co-opted for many biological functions - such as components of snake venoms, regulators of the complement system, and coordinators of amphibian limb regeneration. All of the >200 structurally characterized TFPs adopt the namesake "three-finger" topology. In male red-legged salamanders, the TFP pheromone Plethodontid Modulating Factor (PMF) is a hypervariable protein such that, through extensive gene duplication and pervasive sexual selection, individual male salamanders express more than 30 unique isoforms. However, it remained unclear how this accelerated evolution affected the protein structure of PMF. Using LC/MS-MS and multidimensional NMR, we report the 3D structure of the most abundant PMF isoform, PMF-G. The high resolution structural ensemble revealed a highly modified TFP structure, including a unique disulfide bonding pattern and loss of secondary structure, that define a novel protein topology with greater backbone flexibility in the third peptide finger. Sequence comparison, models of molecular evolution, and homology modeling together support that this flexible third finger is the most rapidly evolving segment of PMF. Combined with PMF sequence hypervariability, this structural flexibility may enhance the plasticity of PMF as a chemical signal by permitting potentially thousands of structural conformers. We propose that the flexible third finger plays a critical role in PMF:receptor interactions. As female receptors co-evolve, this flexibility may allow PMF to still bind its receptor(s) without the immediate need for complementary mutations. Consequently, this unique adaptation may establish new paradigms for how receptor:ligand pairs co-evolve, in particular with respect to sexual conflict.

Diversity in Biological Molecules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newbury, H. John

2010-01-01

One of the striking characteristics of fundamental biological processes, such as genetic inheritance, development and primary metabolism, is the limited amount of variation in the molecules involved. Natural selective pressures act strongly on these core processes and individuals carrying mutations and producing slightly sub-optimal versions of…

Who's the Boss?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Bruce

1986-01-01

There is evidence that the conscious mind selects from among possible acts developed by the unconscious. Even lifting a finger may be subject to this shared mental management. Studies examining this point of view are summarized. (JN)

Overcenter collet space station truss fastener

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheridan, Philip L. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A quick-connect fastener is arranged with a tubular body that is arranged to be engaged against the exterior surface of a hollow attachment fitting and coincidentally aligned with an opening in the fitting. A collet having normally-contracted fingers with outwardly-enlarged ends is operatively arranged in the body to be moved forwardly by an expander member mounted in the tubular body for advancing the collet fingers through the opening in the attachment fitting. Biasing means are arranged between the expander member and a toggle linkage in the tubular body which is selectively operated to urge the expander member forwardly into engagement with the collet fingers with an initial biasing force to advance their forward portions through the body opening and then expand them outwardly. The biasing means also provide a subsequent biasing force for retaining the collet members in their expanded positions once their enlarged forward end portions are on the opposite side of the body.

Viral Ubiquitin Ligase Stimulates Selective Host MicroRNA Expression by Targeting ZEB Transcriptional Repressors

PubMed Central

Kim, Ju Youn; Leader, Andrew; Stoller, Michelle L.; Coen, Donald M.; Wilson, Angus C.

2017-01-01

Infection with herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) brings numerous changes in cellular gene expression. Levels of most host mRNAs are reduced, limiting synthesis of host proteins, especially those involved in antiviral defenses. The impact of HSV-1 on host microRNAs (miRNAs), an extensive network of short non-coding RNAs that regulate mRNA stability/translation, remains largely unexplored. Here we show that transcription of the miR-183 cluster (miR-183, miR-96, and miR-182) is selectively induced by HSV-1 during productive infection of primary fibroblasts and neurons. ICP0, a viral E3 ubiquitin ligase expressed as an immediate-early protein, is both necessary and sufficient for this induction. Nuclear exclusion of ICP0 or removal of the RING (really interesting new gene) finger domain that is required for E3 ligase activity prevents induction. ICP0 promotes the degradation of numerous host proteins and for the most part, the downstream consequences are unknown. Induction of the miR-183 cluster can be mimicked by depletion of host transcriptional repressors zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1)/δ-crystallin enhancer binding factor 1 (δEF1) and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2)/Smad-interacting protein 1 (SIP1), which we establish as new substrates for ICP0-mediated degradation. Thus, HSV-1 selectively stimulates expression of the miR-183 cluster by ICP0-mediated degradation of ZEB transcriptional repressors. PMID:28783105

A descriptive study on selected growth parameters and growth hormone receptor gene in healthy young adults from the American Midwest.

PubMed

Hartin, Samantha N; Hossain, Waheeda A; Manzardo, Ann M; Brown, Shaquanna; Fite, Paula J; Bortolato, Marco; Butler, Merlin G

2018-02-12

The first study of growth hormone receptor (GHR) genotypes in healthy young adults in the United States attending a Midwestern university and impact on selected growth parameters. To describe the frequency of GHR genotypes in a sample of healthy young adults from the United States attending a university in the Midwest and analyze the relationship between GHR genotypes and selected growth parameters. Saliva was collected from 459 healthy young adults (237 females, 222 males; age range = 18-25 y) and DNA isolated for genotyping of GHR alleles (fl/fl, fl/d3, or d3/d3). Selected growth parameters were collected and GHR genotype data examined for previously reported associations (e.g., height, weight or bone mass density) or novel findings (e.g., % body water and index finger length). We found 219 participants (48%) homozygous for fl/fl, 203 (44%), heterozygous fl/d3 and 37 (8%) homozygous d3/d3. The distribution of GHR genotypes in our participants was consistent with previous reports of non-US populations. Several anthropometric measures differed by sex. The distribution of GHR genotypes did not significantly differ by sex, weight, or other anthropometric measures. However, the fl/d3 genotype was more common among African-Americans. Our study of growth and anthropometric parameters in relationship to GHR genotypes found no association with height, weight, right index finger length, BMI, bone mass density, % body fat or % body water in healthy young adults. We did identify sex differences with increased body fat, decreased bone density, body water and index finger length in females. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of stress induced by suboptimal growth factors on survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7.

PubMed

Uyttendaele, M; Taverniers, I; Debevere, J

2001-05-21

This study investigated the growth and survival of E. coli O157:H7 exposed to a combination of suboptimal factors (22 degrees C, 7 degrees C, -18 degrees C/0.5% NaCl, 5.0% NaCl/pH 7.0, pH 5.4, pH 4.5/addition of lactic acid) in a simulation medium for red meat (beef gravy). Prolonged survival was noted as the imposed stress was more severe, and as multiple growth factors became suboptimal. At a defined temperature (7 degrees C or -18 degrees C), survival was prolonged at the more acid, more suboptimal pH (pH 4.5 > pH 5.4 > pH 7.0) while at a defined pH (pH 4.5), better survival was observed at 7 degrees C than at 22 degrees C. This suggests that application of the hurdle concept for preservation of food may inhibit outgrowth but induce prolonged survival of E. coli O157:H7 in minimal processed foods. At both 22 degrees C and 7 degrees C, the addition of lactic acid instead of HCl to reduce pH (to pH 4.5) resulted in a more rapid decrease of E. coli O157:H7. High survival was observed in beef gravy, pH 5.4 at -18 degrees C (simulation of frozen meat)-reduction of log 3.0 to log 1.9 after 43 days--and in beef gravy, pH 4.5 and 5% NaCl at 7 degrees C (simulation of a fermented dried meat product kept in refrigeration)--less than 1 log reduction in 43 days. In these circumstances, however, a high degree of sublethal damage of the bacterial cells was noted. The degree of sublethal damage can be estimated from the difference in recovery of the pathogen on the non-selective TSA medium and the selective SMAC medium.

Promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger turns on the effector T cell program without requirement for agonist TCR signaling.

PubMed

Savage, Adam K; Constantinides, Michael G; Bendelac, Albert

2011-05-15

Thymocytes expressing the NKT cell semi-invariant αβ TCR are thought to undergo agonist interactions with CD1d ligands prior to expressing promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF), a broad complex, tramtrack, bric-a-brac, poxvirus, and zinc finger transcription factor that directs acquisition of the effector program of these innate-like T cells. Whether PLZF can mediate this effector conversion independently of agonist signaling has not been investigated. We demonstrated that transgenic (Tg) expression of PLZF under the CD4 promoter induced the innate effector program in two different MHC class II-restricted TCR-Tg Rag1(-/-) models examined. In CD4 thymocytes expressing a fixed Tg TCR β-chain, the associated TCRα sequences in wild-type and PLZF-Tg mice overlapped extensively, further demonstrating that PLZF could induce the effector program in most CD4 T cells that would normally be selected as naive cells. In contrast, PLZF altered the negative selection of thymocytes expressing TCR β-chains reactive against several retroviral superantigens. Thus, PLZF is remarkable in that it is a transcription factor capable of inducing an effector program in the absence of T cell agonist interactions or cell division. Its expression may also enhance the survival of agonist-signaled thymocytes.

Digital radiograph of the middle phalanx of the third finger (MP3) region as a tool for skeletal maturity assessment.

PubMed

Hegde, Deepa Y; Baliga, Sudhindra; Yeluri, Ramakrishna; Munshi, A K

2012-01-01

To evaluate the reliability of the digital radiograph of the middle phalanx of the third finger (MP3) in skeletal maturity assessment. Fifty children (24 girls and 26 boys) belonging to the circumpubertal age-group were selected for the study. Two radiographs - lateral cephalogram and digital radiograph of the MP3 region - were taken in each child. Age assessment was based on the changes in shape of the cervical vertebrae and the epiphysis of the middle phalanx of the third finger of the left hand. The radiographs were assessed by three examiners. The inter- and intraexaminer variability were determined by the Wilcoxon rank sign test and the Kruskal-Wallis test and were found to be nonsignificant. Examiner 3 showed the best intraexaminer agreement and was selected to evaluate the radiographs for the entire study. The correlation determined between the MP3 stages and cervical vertebrae maturity index (CVMI) stages, the peak-wise distribution of the MP3 stages, and the correlation between the MP3 stages and the chronological age were found to be highly significant. Digital radiograph of the MP3 region is definitely a simple, reliable, cost-effective, and time-saving technique for the assessment of skeletal maturity.

Effectiveness of Conservative, Surgical, and Postsurgical Interventions for Trigger Finger, Dupuytren Disease, and De Quervain Disease: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Huisstede, Bionka M; Gladdines, Saskia; Randsdorp, Manon S; Koes, Bart W

2017-08-30

To provide an evidence-based overview of the effectiveness of conservative and (post)surgical interventions for trigger finger, Dupuytren disease, and De Quervain disease. Cochrane Library, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL were searched to identify relevant systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two reviewers independently applied the inclusion criteria to select potential studies. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the methodologic quality. A best-evidence synthesis was performed to summarize the results. Two reviews (trigger finger and De Quervain disease) and 37 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (trigger finger: n=8; Dupuytren disease: n=14, and De Quervain disease: n=15) were included. The trials reported on oral medication (Dupuytren disease), physiotherapy (De Quervain disease), injections and surgical treatment (trigger finger, Dupuytren disease, and De Quervain disease), and other conservative (De Qervain disease) and postsurgical treatment (Dupuytren disease). Moderate evidence was found for the effect of corticosteroid injection on the very short term for trigger finger, De Quervain disease, and for injections with collagenase (30d) when looking at all joints, and no evidence was found when looking at the PIP joint for Dupuytren disease. A thumb splint as additive to a corticosteroid injection seems to be effective (moderate evidence) for De Quervain disease (short term and midterm). For Dupuytren disease, use of a corticosteroid injection within a percutaneous needle aponeurotomy in the midterm and tamoxifen versus a placebo before or after a fasciectomy seems to promising (moderate evidence). We also found moderate evidence for splinting after Dupuytren surgery in the short term. In recent years, more and more RCTs have been conducted to study treatment of the aforementioned hand disorders. However, more high-quality RCTs are still needed to further stimulate evidence-based practice for patients with trigger finger, Dupuytren disease, and De Quervain disease. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Zinc finger protein binding to DNA: an energy perspective using molecular dynamics simulation and free energy calculations on mutants of both zinc finger domains and their specific DNA bases.

PubMed

Hamed, Mazen Y; Arya, Gaurav

2016-05-01

Energy calculations based on MM-GBSA were employed to study various zinc finger protein (ZF) motifs binding to DNA. Mutants of both the DNA bound to their specific amino acids were studied. Calculated energies gave evidence for a relationship between binding energy and affinity of ZF motifs to their sites on DNA. ΔG values were -15.82(12), -3.66(12), and -12.14(11.6) kcal/mol for finger one, finger two, and finger three, respectively. The mutations in the DNA bases reduced the value of the negative energies of binding (maximum value for ΔΔG = 42Kcal/mol for F1 when GCG mutated to GGG, and ΔΔG = 22 kcal/mol for F2, the loss in total energy of binding originated in the loss in electrostatic energies upon mutation (r = .98). The mutations in key amino acids in the ZF motif in positions-1, 2, 3, and 6 showed reduced binding energies to DNA with correlation coefficients between total free energy and electrostatic was .99 and with Van der Waal was .93. Results agree with experimentally found selectivity which showed that Arginine in position-1 is specific to G, while Aspartic acid (D) in position 2 plays a complicated role in binding. There is a correlation between the MD calculated free energies of binding and those obtained experimentally for prepared ZF motifs bound to triplet bases in other reports (), our results may help in the design of ZF motifs based on the established recognition codes based on energies and contributing energies to the total energy.

Comparison of dominant hand range of motion among throwing types in baseball pitchers.

PubMed

Wang, Lin-Hwa; Kuo, Li-Chieh; Shih, Sheng-Wen; Lo, Kuo-Cheng; Su, Fong-Chin

2013-08-01

Previous research on baseball pitchers' wrists, elbows, and should joints contributes to our understanding of pitchers' control over delicate joint motion and ball release. However, limited research on forearm, wrist, and hand joints prevents full comprehension of the throwing mechanism. The present descriptive laboratory study quantifies angular performances of hand and wrist joints while pitching breaking balls, including fastballs, curveballs and sliders, among pitchers with different skill levels. Nineteen baseball pitchers performed required pitching tasks (10 from university and 9 from high school). A three-dimensional motion analysis system collected pitching motion data. The range of joint motion in the wrist and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) and metacarpophalangeal (MP) joints of the index and middle fingers were compared among fastballs, curveballs and sliders. Thirteen reflective markers were placed on selected anatomic landmarks of the wrist, middle and index fingers of the hand. Wrist flexion angle in the pitching acceleration phase was larger in fastballs (20.58±4.07°) and sliders (22.48±5.45°) than in curveballs (9.08±3.03°) (p = .001). The flexion angle of the PIP joint was significantly larger in curveballs (38.5±3.8°) than in fastballs (30.3±4.8°) and sliders (30.2±4.5°) (p=.004) of the middle finger. Abduction angle of MP joint on the middle finger was significantly larger in curveballs (15.4 ±3.6°) than in fastballs (8.9±1.2°) and sliders (6.9±2.9°) (p=.001) of the middle finger, and the abduction angle of index finger was significantly larger in sliders (13.5±15.0°) than in fastballs (7.2 ±2.8°) (p=.007). Hand and wrist motion and grip types affect the relative position between fingers and ball, which produces different types of baseball pitches. A larger extension angle of the wrist joint and the coordination of middle and index fingers are crucial when pitching a fastball. Abduction and flexion movement on the MP joint of the middle finger are important for a curveball. MP joint abduction and flexion movement of the index finger produce sliders. Understanding the control mechanism in a throwing hand can help improve training protocols in either injury prevention or performance improvement for baseball pitchers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variable and Asymmetric Range of Enslaving: Fingers Can Act Independently over Small Range of Flexion

PubMed Central

van den Noort, Josien C.; van Beek, Nathalie; van der Kraan, Thomas; Veeger, DirkJan H. E. J.; Stegeman, Dick F.; Veltink, Peter H.; Maas, Huub

2016-01-01

The variability in the numerous tasks in which we use our hands is very large. However, independent movement control of individual fingers is limited. To assess the extent of finger independency during full-range finger flexion including all finger joints, we studied enslaving (movement in non-instructed fingers) and range of independent finger movement through the whole finger flexion trajectory in single and multi-finger movement tasks. Thirteen young healthy subjects performed single- and multi-finger movement tasks under two conditions: active flexion through the full range of movement with all fingers free to move and active flexion while the non-instructed finger(s) were restrained. Finger kinematics were measured using inertial sensors (PowerGlove), to assess enslaving and range of independent finger movement. Although all fingers showed enslaving movement to some extent, highest enslaving was found in adjacent fingers. Enslaving effects in ring and little finger were increased with movement of additional, non-adjacent fingers. The middle finger was the only finger affected by restriction in movement of non-instructed fingers. Each finger showed a range of independent movement before the non-instructed fingers started to move, which was largest for the index finger. The start of enslaving was asymmetrical for adjacent fingers. Little finger enslaving movement was affected by multi-finger movement. We conclude that no finger can move independently through the full range of finger flexion, although some degree of full independence is present for smaller movements. This range of independent movement is asymmetric and variable between fingers and between subjects. The presented results provide insight into the role of finger independency for different types of tasks and populations. PMID:27992598

Disfluency effects on lexical selection.

PubMed

Medimorec, Srdan; Young, Torin P; Risko, Evan F

2017-01-01

Recent research has suggested that introducing a disfluency in the context of written composition (i.e., typing with one hand) can increase lexical sophistication. In the current study, we provide a strong test between two accounts of this phenomenon, one that attributes it to the delay caused by the disfluency and one that attributes it to the disruption of typical finger-to-letter mappings caused by the disfluency. To test between these accounts, we slowed down participants' typewriting by introducing a small delay between keystrokes while individuals wrote essays. Critically, this manipulation did not disrupt typical finger-to-letter mappings. Consistent with the delay-based account, our results demonstrate that the essays written in this less fluent condition were more lexically diverse and used less frequent words. Implications for the temporal dynamics of lexical selection in complex cognitive tasks are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Design of Hand Gestures for Human-Computer Interaction: Lessons from Sign Language Interpreters.

PubMed

Rempel, David; Camilleri, Matt J; Lee, David L

2015-10-01

The design and selection of 3D modeled hand gestures for human-computer interaction should follow principles of natural language combined with the need to optimize gesture contrast and recognition. The selection should also consider the discomfort and fatigue associated with distinct hand postures and motions, especially for common commands. Sign language interpreters have extensive and unique experience forming hand gestures and many suffer from hand pain while gesturing. Professional sign language interpreters (N=24) rated discomfort for hand gestures associated with 47 characters and words and 33 hand postures. Clear associations of discomfort with hand postures were identified. In a nominal logistic regression model, high discomfort was associated with gestures requiring a flexed wrist, discordant adjacent fingers, or extended fingers. These and other findings should be considered in the design of hand gestures to optimize the relationship between human cognitive and physical processes and computer gesture recognition systems for human-computer input.

[Risk factors associated with trigger finger. Case-control study].

PubMed

De la Parra-Márquez, Miguel Leonardo; Tamez-Cavazos, Roberto; Zertuche-Cedillo, Luis; Martínez-Pérez, Juan José; Velasco-Rodríguez, Víctor; Cisneros-Pérez, Vicente

2008-01-01

We undertook this study to identify risk factors in our population associated with trigger finger. The study was conducted at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, UMAE 21, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. This was a case-control, retrospective, and observational study. There were 250 patients in each group. For cases, patients who were operated on for trigger finger from March 2006 to August 2006 were included. Controls included patients admitted to the Emergency Department with hand injuries that fulfilled the selection criteria. Risk factors analyzed were diabetes, hypertension, smoking, sex, age, weight, and 19 different occupations. Mean age of the cases was 52 years (SE +/- 14.19 years) with a median and mode of 53 years. The right hand was the most common with the middle, thumb, ring, index and little fingers, respectively. A significant statistical relationship was found: females (OR 7.57, 95% CI 5.07-11.31); diabetes (OR 3.72, 95% CI 2.43-5.70); obesity (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.02-2.19). With regard to occupation, a statistical relationship was found: homemaker (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.62-3.69); seamstress (OR 4.8, 95% CI 1.3-21.6); and secretary (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.38-5.52). Trigger finger is a common pathology in our population and is more frequent in women >53 years old. It may be related to diabetes, body mass index (obesity) and certain occupations such as secretary, seamstress and homemaker.

Why borrow from Peter when Paul can afford it? Reverse homodigital artery flap for fingertip reconstruction

PubMed Central

Sundaramurthy, Narayanamurthy; Venkata Mahipathy, Surya Rao Rao; Durairaj, Alagar Raja

2017-01-01

Background: Fingertip injuries that are complicated by pulp loss, bone or tendon exposure will need a flap cover. Cross finger flap is commonly used to cover such defects. However, patients are apprehensive about injuring the uninjured finger as a donor site. Reverse homodigital artery flap (RHAF) can provide reliable vascularised cover to such defects. Aims: This study aims to assess the functional and aesthetic outcomes along with the patient satisfaction of RHAFs done for fingertip defects. Materials and Methods: RHAFs done in 18 patients operated between August 2015 and October 2016 were retrospectively analysed on flap survival, sensory recovery, range of movements, hypersensitivity, cold intolerance, flexion contracture and donor site morbidity. Results: Seventeen of the 18 flaps done survived completely. One flap had partial necrosis of 3 mm that healed conservatively. Middle finger of the right hand was the most commonly injured finger. Touch, pain and pressure sensations recovered in 8–12 weeks. Two-point discrimination was 4.5 mm at 6 months. The deficit of 5° s was present at distal interphalangeal joint during active flexion at 6 months. Cold intolerance and flexion contracture were not seen and 2 instances of hypersensitivity at 2 months got cured conservatively after 4 months. Overall satisfaction of patients was 8/10. Conclusion: RHAF provides single staged well-vascularised cover for fingertip injuries with good sensory recovery without damaging the adjacent uninjured finger. Hence, it can be a reliable flap for fingertip reconstruction in selected cases. PMID:29343895

Observation of Simple Intransitive Actions: The Effect of Familiarity

PubMed Central

Plata Bello, Julio; Modroño, Cristián; Marcano, Francisco; González–Mora, José Luis

2013-01-01

Introduction Humans are more familiar with index – thumb than with any other finger to thumb grasping. The effect of familiarity has been previously tested with complex, specialized and/or transitive movements, but not with simple intransitive ones. The aim of this study is to evaluate brain activity patterns during the observation of simple and intransitive finger movements with differing degrees of familiarity. Methodology A functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study was performed using a paradigm consisting of the observation of 4 videos showing a finger opposition task between the thumb and the other fingers (index, middle, ring and little) in a repetitive manner with a fixed frequency (1 Hz). This movement is considered as the pantomime of a precision grasping action. Results Significant activity was identified in the bilateral Inferior Parietal Lobule and premotor regions with the selected level of significance (FDR [False Discovery Rate] = 0.01). The extent of the activation in both regions tended to decrease when the finger that performed the action was further from the thumb. More specifically, this effect showed a linear trend (index>middle>ring>little) in the right parietal and premotor regions. Conclusions The observation of less familiar simple intransitive movements produces less activation of parietal and premotor areas than familiar ones. The most important implication of this study is the identification of differences in brain activity during the observation of simple intransitive movements with different degrees of familiarity. PMID:24073213

Intervarietal variations in various oxidative stress markers and antioxidant potential of finger millet (Eleusine coracana) subjected to drought stress.

PubMed

Bartwal, Arti; Pande, Anjali; Sharma, Priyadarshini; Arora, Sandeep

2016-07-01

Drought is a major form of abiotic stress leading to lower crop productivity. Experiment was carried out for selecting the most tolerant genotype among six different genotypes of finger millet under drought stress. Seeds of six finger millet genotypes were sown in pots and grown for 35 days. After this period, drought was induced by withholding watering for stressed plants while control plants were watered regularly for comparison. Among all six different varieties of finger millet screened (PR202, PES400, PRM6107, VL283, VL328 and VL149) under varying intensities of drought stress,PRM6107 and PR202 showed highest stress tolerance by limiting excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through activation of ROS scavenging antioxidative enzymes. A 200% increase in ascorbate content was recorded in PRM6107 and PR202, while in other varieties limited increase in ascorbate content was observed. Maximum decrease in chlorophyll content was observed in VL328 (83%) while least drop was observed in VL149 (65%). Relative water content indicated that PR202 was able to retain maximum water content under stress, as it recorded least drop in relative water content (55%), contributing to its better survival under stress. In conclusion finger millet genotypes PRM6107 and PR202 possessed maximum drought tolerance potential and thus may be used for allele mining of drought tolerant genes, which can further be employed for the development of more drought stress tolerant staple crops using biotechnological approach.

Development of transgenic finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) resistant to leaf blast disease.

PubMed

Ignacimuthu, S; Ceasar, S Antony

2012-03-01

Finger millet plants conferring resistance to leaf blast disease have been developed by inserting a rice chitinase (chi11) gene through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Plasmid pHyg-Chi.11 harbouring the rice chitinase gene under the control of maize ubiquitin promoter was introduced into finger millet using Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 (pSB1). Transformed plants were selected and regenerated on hygromycin-supplemented medium. Transient expression of transgene was confirmed by GUS histochemical staining. The incorporation of rice chitinase gene in R0 and R1 progenies was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analyses. Expression of chitinase gene in finger millet was confirmed by Western blot analysis with a barley chitinase antibody. A leaf blast assay was also performed by challenging the transgenic plants with spores of Pyricularia grisea. The frequency of transient expression was 16.3% to 19.3%. Stable frequency was 3.5% to 3.9%. Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of 3.1 kb chitinase gene. Western blot analysis detected the presence of 35 kDa chitinase enzyme. Chitinase activity ranged from 19.4 to 24.8. In segregation analysis, the transgenic R1 lines produced three resistant and one sensitive for hygromycin, confirming the normal Mendelian pattern of transgene segregation. Transgenic plants showed high level of resistance to leaf blast disease compared to control plants. This is the first study reporting the introduction of rice chitinase gene into finger millet for leaf blast resistance.

Associations of work activities requiring pinch or hand grip or exposure to hand-arm vibration with finger and wrist osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Hammer, Paula E C; Shiri, Rahman; Kryger, Ann I; Kirkeskov, Lilli; Bonde, Jens Peter

2014-03-01

We systematically reviewed the epidemiologic evidence linking finger and wrist osteoarthritis (OA) with work activities requiring pinch or hand grip or exposure to hand-arm vibration (HAV). PubMed and Embase databases were searched up to June 2013. We selected studies assessing the associations of radiographic diagnosed finger and/or wrist joint OA with work activities involving pinch or hand grip or exposure to HAV. We used specific criteria to evaluate completeness of reporting, potential confounding, and bias. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were computed using random-effects meta-analyses. Of the 19 studies included, 17 were cross-sectional, 1 was a prospective cohort, and 1 a case-control study. The meta-analyses of studies that controlled their estimates for at least age and gender showed the associations of pinch grip work with proximal interphalangeal joint [OR 1.56, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.09-2.23] and the first carpometacarpal joint OA (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.06-4.17), but not with distal interphalangeal, metacarpalphalangeal, or wrist joints OA. Hand grip work and exposure to HAV were not associated with any finger or wrist OA. Epidemiological studies provide limited evidence that pinch grip may increase the risk of wrist or finger OA, but causal relation cannot be resolved because of cross-sectional designs and inadequate characterization of biomechanical strain to the hand and wrist.

Kinematic analysis of the finger exoskeleton using MATLAB/Simulink.

PubMed

Nasiłowski, Krzysztof; Awrejcewicz, Jan; Lewandowski, Donat

2014-01-01

A paralyzed and not fully functional part of human body can be supported by the properly designed exoskeleton system with motoric abilities. It can help in rehabilitation, or movement of a disabled/paralyzed limb. Both suitably selected geometry and specialized software are studied applying the MATLAB environment. A finger exoskeleton was the base for MATLAB/Simulink model. Specialized software, such as MATLAB/Simulink give us an opportunity to optimize calculation reaching precise results, which help in next steps of design process. The calculations carried out yield information regarding movement relation between three functionally connected actuators and showed distance and velocity changes during the whole simulation time.

The benefit of using additional hydrological information from earth observations and reanalysis data on water allocation decisions in irrigation districts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaune, Alexander; López, Patricia; Werner, Micha; de Fraiture, Charlotte

2017-04-01

Hydrological information on water availability and demand is vital for sound water allocation decisions in irrigation districts, particularly in times of water scarcity. However, sub-optimal water allocation decisions are often taken with incomplete hydrological information, which may lead to agricultural production loss. In this study we evaluate the benefit of additional hydrological information from earth observations and reanalysis data in supporting decisions in irrigation districts. Current water allocation decisions were emulated through heuristic operational rules for water scarce and water abundant conditions in the selected irrigation districts. The Dynamic Water Balance Model based on the Budyko framework was forced with precipitation datasets from interpolated ground measurements, remote sensing and reanalysis data, to determine the water availability for irrigation. Irrigation demands were estimated based on estimates of potential evapotranspiration and coefficient for crops grown, adjusted with the interpolated precipitation data. Decisions made using both current and additional hydrological information were evaluated through the rate at which sub-optimal decisions were made. The decisions made using an amended set of decision rules that benefit from additional information on demand in the districts were also evaluated. Results show that sub-optimal decisions can be reduced in the planning phase through improved estimates of water availability. Where there are reliable observations of water availability through gauging stations, the benefit of the improved precipitation data is found in the improved estimates of demand, equally leading to a reduction of sub-optimal decisions.

Influence of Storage Conditions on the Growth of Pseudomonas Species in Refrigerated Raw Milk▿ †

PubMed Central

De Jonghe, Valerie; Coorevits, An; Van Hoorde, Koenraad; Messens, Winy; Van Landschoot, Anita; De Vos, Paul; Heyndrickx, Marc

2011-01-01

The refrigerated storage of raw milk throughout the dairy chain prior to heat treatment creates selective conditions for growth of psychrotolerant bacteria. These bacteria, mainly belonging to the genus Pseudomonas, are capable of producing thermoresistant extracellular proteases and lipases, which can cause spoilage and structural defects in pasteurized and ultra-high-temperature-treated milk (products). To map the influence of refrigerated storage on the growth of these pseudomonads, milk samples were taken after the first milking turn and incubated laboratory scale at temperatures simulating optimal and suboptimal preprocessing storage conditions. The outgrowth of Pseudomonas members was monitored over time by means of cultivation-independent denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Isolates were identified by a polyphasic approach. These incubations revealed that outgrowth of Pseudomonas members occurred from the beginning of the dairy chain (farm tank) under both optimal and suboptimal storage conditions. An even greater risk for outgrowth, as indicated by a vast increase of about 2 log CFU per ml raw milk, existed downstream in the chain, especially when raw milk was stored under suboptimal conditions. This difference in Pseudomonas outgrowth between optimal and suboptimal storage was already statistically significant within the farm tank. The predominant taxa were identified as Pseudomonas gessardii, Pseudomonas gessardii-like, Pseudomonas fluorescens-like, Pseudomonas lundensis, Pseudomonas fragi, and Pseudomonas fragi-like. Those taxa show an important spoilage potential as determined on elective media for proteolysis and lipolysis. PMID:21115713

Real-World Dosing Patterns of Atomoxetine in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

PubMed

Kabul, Samaneh; Alatorre, Carlos; Montejano, Leslie B; Farr, Amanda M; Clemow, David B

2015-12-01

The aim was to investigate the dosing patterns of atomoxetine monotherapy in adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a retrospective analysis. Adult (≥ 18 years) patients with ADHD newly initiated on atomoxetine with ≥ 1 outpatient pharmacy claim for atomoxetine between January 2006 and December 2011 were selected from the Truven Health MarketScan(®) Commercial database. After a 30-day titration period, dosing patterns of atomoxetine monotherapy were analyzed in the 12 months following initiation. In addition, patient demographic and clinical characteristics were compared to identify characteristics associated with suboptimal versus recommended dosing. Of the 12,412 adult patients with ADHD newly initiated on atomoxetine, 4548 (36.6%) were suboptimally dosed, whereas 3323 (26.7%) were treated at recommended dose. Overall, study patients were treated at a mean (standard deviation [SD]) dose of 68.5 (44.9) mg/day. The suboptimal dosing cohort included significantly more females (54% vs. 44%, P < 0.001) and had fewer patients with pre-index use of other ADHD medications (17% vs. 20%, P < 0.001) compared with the recommended dosing cohort. Adult patients with ADHD receiving atomoxetine therapy in a real-world setting are often dosed suboptimally. Increasing the awareness on optimal dosing strategy among clinicians and patients is warranted to maximize the therapeutic benefits of atomoxetine among adult patients with ADHD. © 2015 Eli Lilly and Company. CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Towards Wearable A-Mode Ultrasound Sensing for Real-Time Finger Motion Recognition.

PubMed

Yang, Xingchen; Sun, Xueli; Zhou, Dalin; Li, Yuefeng; Liu, Honghai

2018-06-01

It is evident that surface electromyography (sEMG) based human-machine interfaces (HMI) have inherent difficulty in predicting dexterous musculoskeletal movements such as finger motions. This paper is an attempt to investigate a plausible alternative to sEMG, ultrasound-driven HMI, for dexterous motion recognition due to its characteristic of detecting morphological changes of deep muscles and tendons. A multi-channel A-mode ultrasound lightweight device is adopted to evaluate the performance of finger motion recognition; an experiment is designed for both widely acceptable offline and online algorithms with eight able-bodied subjects employed. The experiment result presents that the offline recognition accuracy is up to 98.83% ± 0.79%. The real-time motion completion rate is 95.4% ± 8.7% and online motion selection time is 0.243 ± 0.127 s. The outcomes confirm the feasibility of A-mode ultrasound based wearable HMI and its prosperous applications in prosthetic devices, virtual reality, and remote manipulation.

Upper limb congenital muscular hypertrophy and aberrant muscle syndrome in children.

PubMed

Dahan, Emmanuel; Chaves, Camilo; Bachy, Manon; Fitoussi, Frank

2018-01-01

Congenital muscle hypertrophy of the upper limb is a very rare condition with unknown aetiology. This descriptive observational and retrospective series included eight children followed by a multidisciplinary team from 2005 to 2017. The diagnosis was based on a cluster of clinical and radiological characteristics after elimination of differential diagnoses. Patients were categorized according to: anomalies of the wrist, anomalies of long fingers of intrinsic or extrinsic origin; and anomalies of the thumb with or without first web space contracture. Treatment begins in young children with hand orthoses to limit muscle contraction and joint malposition. The purpose of surgical treatment was to release contractures and to restore muscle balance through, in the main, finger intrinsic releases and first web releases. At the 2-year follow-up, we found that limited surgical procedures improved finger, thumb and wrist positions. We conclude that muscle hypertrophy is the main cause of deformity and that selective releases of contracted musculo-tendinous units and skin lengthening are effective. IV.

Tactile objects based on an amplitude disturbed diffraction pattern method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuan; Nikolovski, Jean-Pierre; Mechbal, Nazih; Hafez, Moustapha; Vergé, Michel

2009-12-01

Tactile sensing is becoming widely used in human-computer interfaces. Recent advances in acoustic approaches demonstrated the possibilities to transform ordinary solid objects into interactive interfaces. This letter proposes a static finger contact localization process using an amplitude disturbed diffraction pattern method. The localization method is based on the following physical phenomenon: a finger contact modifies the energy distribution of acoustic wave in a solid; these variations depend on the wave frequency and the contact position. The presented method first consists of exciting the object with an acoustic signal with plural frequency components. In a second step, a measured acoustic signal is compared with prerecorded values to deduce the contact position. This position is then used for human-machine interaction (e.g., finger tracking on computer screen). The selection of excitation signals is discussed and a frequency choice criterion based on contrast value is proposed. Tests on a sandwich plate (liquid crystal display screen) prove the simplicity and easiness to apply the process in various solids.

The compensatory motion of wrist immobilization on thumb and index finger performance--kinematic analysis and clinical implications.

PubMed

Liu, Chien-Hsiou; Chiang, Hsin-Yu; Chen, Kun-Hung

2015-01-01

Based on the high prevalence of people with problems in the wrist and hand simultaneously, it is of its importance to clarify whether hand joints exert extra motion to compensate for wrist motion while immobilized. This study aimed to measure the compensatory movement of the thumb and index finger when people perform daily activities with an immobilized wrist. Thirty healthy volunteers were recruited in this study. A wrist splint, the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, and the OptoTrak Certus motion tracking system were used. Seven inter-digit mean joint angles of the index finger and thumb were calculated. Paired sample t-test was used. (1) The compensatory motions were noted in the Metacarpophalangeal and Carpometacarpal joints of the thumb, and the proximal interphalangeal joints of the index finger; (2) The manifestation of compensatory motion was related to type of activity performed except when picking up light and heavy cans. The compensatory motions appeared while the wrist was immobilized and were found to be disadvantageous to the progression of disease. In the future, studies need to be done to understand how to select products with correct ergonomic design to enable people to reap greater benefits from wearing wrist splints.

Effects of spatial disturbance on common loon nest site selection and territory success

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCarthy, K.P.; DeStefano, S.

2011-01-01

The common loon (Gavia immer) breeds during the summer on northern lakes and water bodies that are also often desirable areas for aquatic recreation and human habitation. In northern New England, we assessed how the spatial nature of disturbance affects common loon nest site selection and territory success. We found through classification and regression analysis that distance to and density of disturbance factors can be used to classify observed nest site locations versus random points, suggesting that these factors affect loon nest site selection (model 1: Correct classification = 75%, null = 50%, K = 0.507, P < 0.001; model 2: Correct classification = 78%, null = 50%, K = 0.551, P < 0.001). However, in an exploratory analysis, we were unable to show a relation between spatial disturbance variables and breeding success (P = 0.595, R 2 = 0.436), possibly because breeding success was so low during the breeding seasons of 2007-2008. We suggest that by selecting nest site locations that avoid disturbance factors, loons thereby limit the effect that disturbance will have on their breeding success. Still, disturbance may force loons to use sub-optimal nesting habitat, limiting the available number of territories, and overall productivity. We advise that management efforts focus on limiting disturbance factors to allow breeding pairs access to the best nesting territories, relieving disturbance pressures that may force sub-optimal nest placement. ?? 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Development of a prediction model for residual disease in newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Janco, Jo Marie Tran; Glaser, Gretchen; Kim, Bohyun; McGree, Michaela E; Weaver, Amy L; Cliby, William A; Dowdy, Sean C; Bakkum-Gamez, Jamie N

2015-07-01

To construct a tool, using computed tomography (CT) imaging and preoperative clinical variables, to estimate successful primary cytoreduction for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Women who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery for stage IIIC/IV EOC at Mayo Clinic between 1/2/2003 and 12/30/2011 and had preoperative CT images of the abdomen and pelvis within 90days prior to their surgery available for review were included. CT images were reviewed for large-volume ascites, diffuse peritoneal thickening (DPT), omental cake, lymphadenopathy (LP), and spleen or liver involvement. Preoperative factors included age, body mass index (BMI), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, albumin, CA-125, and thrombocytosis. Two prediction models were developed to estimate the probability of (i) complete and (ii) suboptimal cytoreduction (residual disease (RD) >1cm) using multivariable logistic analysis with backward and stepwise variable selection methods. Internal validation was assessed using bootstrap resampling to derive an optimism-corrected estimate of the c-index. 279 patients met inclusion criteria: 143 had complete cytoreduction, 26 had suboptimal cytoreduction (RD>1cm), and 110 had measurable RD ≤1cm. On multivariable analysis, age, absence of ascites, omental cake, and DPT on CT imaging independently predicted complete cytoreduction (c-index=0.748). Conversely, predictors of suboptimal cytoreduction were ECOG PS, DPT, and LP on preoperative CT imaging (c-index=0.685). The generated models serve as preoperative evaluation tools that may improve counseling and selection for primary surgery, but need to be externally validated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Finger tapping ability in healthy elderly and young adults.

PubMed

Aoki, Tomoko; Fukuoka, Yoshiyuki

2010-03-01

The maximum isometric force production capacity of the fingers decreases with age. However, little information is available on age-related changes in dynamic motor capacity of individual fingers. The purpose of this study was to compare the dynamic motor function of individual fingers between elderly and young adults using rapid single-finger and double-finger tapping. Fourteen elderly and 14 young adults performed maximum frequency tapping by the index, middle, ring, or little finger (single-finger tapping) and with alternate movements of the index-middle, middle-ring, or ring-little finger-pair (double-finger tapping). The maximum pinch force between the thumb and each finger, tactile sensitivity of each fingertip, and time taken to complete a pegboard test were also measured. Compared with young subjects, the older subjects had significantly slower tapping rates in all fingers and finger-pairs in the tapping tasks. The age-related decline was also observed in the tactile sensitivities of all fingers and in the pegboard test. However, there was no group difference in the pinch force of any finger. The tapping rate of each finger did not correlate with the pinch force or tactile sensitivity for the corresponding finger in the elderly subjects. Maximum rate of finger tapping was lower in the elderly adults compared with the young adults. The decline of finger tapping ability in elderly adults seems to be less affected by their maximum force production capacities of the fingers as well as tactile sensitivities at the tips of the fingers.

Dynamics of Attentional Selection under Conflict: Toward a Rational Bayesian Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Angela J.; Dayan, Peter; Cohen, Jonathan D.

2009-01-01

The brain exhibits remarkable facility in exerting attentional control in most circumstances, but it also suffers apparent limitations in others. The authors' goal is to construct a rational account for why attentional control appears suboptimal under conditions of conflict and what this implies about the underlying computational principles. The…

Fixing Dataset Search

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lynnes, Chris

2014-01-01

Three current search engines are queried for ozone data at the GES DISC. The results range from sub-optimal to counter-intuitive. We propose a method to fix dataset search by implementing a robust relevancy ranking scheme. The relevancy ranking scheme is based on several heuristics culled from more than 20 years of helping users select datasets.

Hand digit control in children: motor overflow in multi-finger pressing force vector space during maximum voluntary force production.

PubMed

Shim, Jae Kun; Karol, Sohit; Hsu, Jeffrey; de Oliveira, Marcio Alves

2008-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the contralateral motor overflow in children during single-finger and multi-finger maximum force production tasks. Forty-five right handed children, 5-11 years of age produced maximum isometric pressing force in flexion or extension with single fingers or all four fingers of their right hand. The forces produced by individual fingers of the right and left hands were recorded and analyzed in four-dimensional finger force vector space. The results showed that increases in task (right) hand finger forces were linearly associated with non-task (left) hand finger forces. The ratio of the non-task hand finger force magnitude to the corresponding task hand finger force magnitude, termed motor overflow magnitude (MOM), was greater in extension than flexion. The index finger flexion task showed the smallest MOM values. The similarity between the directions of task hand and non-task hand finger force vectors in four-dimensional finger force vector space, termed motor overflow direction (MOD), was the greatest for index and smallest for little finger tasks. MOM of a four-finger task was greater than the sum of MOMs of single-finger tasks, and this phenomenon was termed motor overflow surplus. Contrary to previous studies, no single-finger or four-finger tasks showed significant changes of MOM or MOD with the age of children. We conclude that the contralateral motor overflow in children during finger maximum force production tasks is dependent upon the task fingers and the magnitude and direction of task finger forces.

Finger Interdependence: Linking the Kinetic and Kinematic Variables

PubMed Central

Kim, Sun Wook; Shim, Jae Kun; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M.; Latash, Mark L.

2008-01-01

We studied the dependence between voluntary motion of a finger and pressing forces produced by the tips of other fingers of the hand. Subjects moved one of the fingers (task finger) of the right hand trying to follow a cyclic, ramp-like flexion-extension template at different frequencies. The other fingers (slave fingers) were restricted from moving; their flexion forces were recorded and analyzed. Index finger motion caused the smallest force production by the slave fingers. Larger forces were produced by the neighbors of the task finger; these forces showed strong modulation over the range of motion of the task finger. The enslaved forces were higher during the flexion phase of the movement cycle as compared to the extension phase. The index of enslaving expressed in N/rad was higher when the task finger moved through the more flexed postures. The dependence of enslaving on both range and direction of task finger motion poses problems for methods of analysis of finger coordination based on an assumption of universal matrices of finger inter-dependence. PMID:18255182

Pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories: the role of catastrophic events.

PubMed

Richardson, Lindsey; Small, Will; Kerr, Thomas

2016-01-01

People affected by substance use disorders often experience sub-optimal employment outcomes. The role of drug use in processes that produce and entrench labour market precarity among people who inject drugs (PWID) have not, however, been fully described. We recruited 22 PWID from ongoing prospective cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada, with whom we conducted semi-structured retrospective interviews and then employed a thematic analysis that drew on concepts from life course theory to explore the mechanisms and pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories. The participants' narratives identified processes corresponding to causation, whereby suboptimal employment outcomes led to harmful drug use; direct selection, where impairment, health complications or drug-seeking activities selected individuals out of employment; and indirect selection, where external factors, such as catastrophic events, marked the initiation or intensification of substance use concurrent with sudden changes in capacities for employment. Catastrophic events linking negative transitions in both drug use and labour market trajectories were of primary importance, demarcating critical initiation and transitional events in individual risk trajectories. These results challenge conventional assumptions about the primacy of drug use in determining employment outcomes among PWID and suggest the importance of multidimensional support to mitigate the initiation, accumulation and entrenchment of labour market and drug-related disadvantage. © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories: the role of catastrophic events

PubMed Central

Richardson, Lindsey; Small, Will; Kerr, Thomas

2015-01-01

People affected by substance use disorders often experience sub-optimal employment outcomes. The role of drug use in processes that produce and entrench labour market precarity among people who inject drugs (PWID) have not, however, been fully described. We recruited 22 PWID from ongoing prospective cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada and conducted semi-structured retrospective interviews and employed a thematic analysis that draws on concepts from life course theory to explore mechanisms and pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories. Narratives identified processes corresponding to: causation, whereby suboptimal employment outcomes led to harmful drug use; direct selection, where impairment, health complications or drug seeking activities selected individuals out of employment; and indirect selection, where external factors, such as catastrophic events, marked the initiation or intensification of substance use concurrent with sudden changes in capacities for employment. Catastrophic events linking negative transitions in both drug use and labour market trajectories were of primary importance, demarcating critical initiation and transitional events in individual risk trajectories. These results challenge conventional assumptions about the primacy of drug use in determining employment outcomes among PWID, and suggest the importance of multi-dimensional supports to mitigate the initiation, accumulation and entrenchment of labour market and drug-related disadvantage. PMID:26358407

Design and preliminary evaluation of the FINGER rehabilitation robot: controlling challenge and quantifying finger individuation during musical computer game play.

PubMed

Taheri, Hossein; Rowe, Justin B; Gardner, David; Chan, Vicki; Gray, Kyle; Bower, Curtis; Reinkensmeyer, David J; Wolbrecht, Eric T

2014-02-04

This paper describes the design and preliminary testing of FINGER (Finger Individuating Grasp Exercise Robot), a device for assisting in finger rehabilitation after neurologic injury. We developed FINGER to assist stroke patients in moving their fingers individually in a naturalistic curling motion while playing a game similar to Guitar Hero. The goal was to make FINGER capable of assisting with motions where precise timing is important. FINGER consists of a pair of stacked single degree-of-freedom 8-bar mechanisms, one for the index and one for the middle finger. Each 8-bar mechanism was designed to control the angle and position of the proximal phalanx and the position of the middle phalanx. Target positions for the mechanism optimization were determined from trajectory data collected from 7 healthy subjects using color-based motion capture. The resulting robotic device was built to accommodate multiple finger sizes and finger-to-finger widths. For initial evaluation, we asked individuals with a stroke (n = 16) and without impairment (n = 4) to play a game similar to Guitar Hero while connected to FINGER. Precision design, low friction bearings, and separate high speed linear actuators allowed FINGER to individually actuate the fingers with a high bandwidth of control (-3 dB at approximately 8 Hz). During the tests, we were able to modulate the subject's success rate at the game by automatically adjusting the controller gains of FINGER. We also used FINGER to measure subjects' effort and finger individuation while playing the game. Test results demonstrate the ability of FINGER to motivate subjects with an engaging game environment that challenges individuated control of the fingers, automatically control assistance levels, and quantify finger individuation after stroke.

Small-scale modelling of cementation by descending silica-bearing fluids: Explanation of the origin of arenitic caves in South American tepuis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aubrecht, R.; Lánczos, T.; Schlögl, J.; Audy, M.

2017-12-01

Geoscientific research was performed on South American table mountains (tepuis) and in their sandstone cave systems. To explain speleogenesis in these poorly soluble rocks, two theories were introduced: a) arenization theory implying selective weathering of quartz along grain boundaries and releasing of sand grains, b) selective lithification theory implying cementation by descending silica-bearing fluid flow. The latter theory presumes that the descending fluid flow becomes unstable on the interface between two layers with different porosity and splits to separate flow channels (so-called ;finger flow;). The arenites outside these channels remain uncemented. To verify the latter theory, small-scale modelling was performed, using layered sands and sodium-silicate solution. Fine to medium sand was used (0.08-0.5 mm), along with a coarse sand fraction (0.5-1.5 mm). The sands were layered and compacted in a transparent plastic boxes. Three liters of sodium-silicate solution (so-called water glass) were left to drip for several hours to the top of the sediment. The fine-grained layers were perfectly laterally impregnated, whereas the descending fluid flows split to ;fingers; in the coarse-grained layers due their higher hydraulic conductivity. This small-scale laboratory simulation mimics the real diagenesis by descending silica-bearing fluids and matches the real phenomena observed on the tepuis. The resulting cemented constructions closely mimic many geomorphological features observed on tepuis and inside their caves, e.g. ;finger-flow; pillars, overhangs, imperfectly formed (aborted) pillars in forms of hummocks hanging from ceilings, locally also thicker central pillars that originated by merging of smaller fluid-flow channels. The modelling showed that selective lithification theory can explain most of the geomorphological aspects related to the speleogenesis in tepuis.

Parental 'affectionless control' in adolescent depressive disorder.

PubMed

Patton, G C; Coffey, C; Posterino, M; Carlin, J B; Wolfe, R

2001-10-01

Adults with depressive disorder report high rates of sub-optimal maternal care in childhood. Despite the greater salience of relationships with parents earlier in life, associations with parenting style have not yet been systematically studied in adolescent onset disorder. A six-wave, 3-year study of adolescent health in 2032 Australian secondary school students provided an opportunity to undertake a two-phase study of early onset depression. Between waves 2 to 6, a self-administered computerised form of the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) was used to generate a first phase diagnosis of ICD-10 depressive episode. Each subject with a CIS-R-defined depressive episode was selected for second phase assessment together with two subjects from the CIS-R non-cases in each school. Second phase assessment included a second diagnostic assessment using the depression and hypomania modules of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and assessment of paternal and maternal style using the Parental Bonding Instrument. A total of 1947 out of 2032 subjects in the sampling frame (95.8%) participated in the cohort study (phase 1) at least once; 406 (94%) of the 435 selected subjects completed second phase assessment. One hundred and nineteen subjects fulfilled criteria for depressive episode on the CIS-R at one or more waves. Over the 30-month study period, 69 subjects (10 male, 59 female) fulfilled both CIS-R and CIDI definitions of depression at the same wave and were classified as 'definite depressive disorder'. Low maternal and paternal care held independent associations with both definitions of depression, with the effects clearest in those in the lowest quartile of reported care. After adjusting for low parental care, the associations between high parental control and depression were small. Sub-optimal parenting is associated with depressive disorder in adolescents. Low maternal and paternal care are each associated with a two- to three-fold higher rate of depressive disorder. These findings are consistent with an effect of sub-optimal parenting on the onset rather than course of disorder. Whether sub-optimal parenting is associated with a risk for the onset of depression outside the adolescent years has yet to be clarified.

Mobile Phone Usage and its Health Effects Among Adults in a Semi-Urban Area of Southern India.

PubMed

Stalin, P; Abraham, Sherin Billy; Kanimozhy, K; Prasad, R Vishnu; Singh, Zile; Purty, Anil J

2016-01-01

Worldwide, mobile phone usage has been increased dramatically which could affect the health of the people. India has the second largest number of mobile phone users. However there are only few studies conducted in India to assess its effects on health. To determine the prevalence and pattern of mobile phone usage and to assess the relationship between certain selected health problems and mobile phone usage among adults. Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Kottakuppam, a town panchayat in Villupuram district of Coastal Tamil Nadu, Southern India. It is a semi-urban area with a population of about 16,000. Majority of the residents are Muslim by religion and belong to different socio economic status. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. A total of 2121 study participants were interviewed by the pre-final medical students through house-to-house survey using a pretested structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included the variables such as socio demographic profile, mobile phone usage and pattern, selected health problems, perceived benefits and threats and blood pressure. Selected health problems included headache, earache, neck pain, tinnitus, painful fingers, restlessness, morning tiredness, tingling fingers, fatigue, eye symptoms, sleep disturbance and hypertension. Only 2054 were included for data analysis using SPSS 17 version. Proportions were calculated. Chi-square test was used to measure the p-value. The p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The prevalence of mobile phone usage was 70%. Calling facility (94.2%) was used more than the SMS (67.6%). Health problems like headache, earache, tinnitus, painful fingers and restlessness etc., were found to be positively associated with mobile phone usage. There was negative association between hypertension and mobile phone usage. The prevalence of mobile phone usage was high. There was significant association between selected health problems and mobile phone usage. In future, higher studies are required to confirm our findings.

Design and preliminary evaluation of the FINGER rehabilitation robot: controlling challenge and quantifying finger individuation during musical computer game play

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background This paper describes the design and preliminary testing of FINGER (Finger Individuating Grasp Exercise Robot), a device for assisting in finger rehabilitation after neurologic injury. We developed FINGER to assist stroke patients in moving their fingers individually in a naturalistic curling motion while playing a game similar to Guitar Hero®a. The goal was to make FINGER capable of assisting with motions where precise timing is important. Methods FINGER consists of a pair of stacked single degree-of-freedom 8-bar mechanisms, one for the index and one for the middle finger. Each 8-bar mechanism was designed to control the angle and position of the proximal phalanx and the position of the middle phalanx. Target positions for the mechanism optimization were determined from trajectory data collected from 7 healthy subjects using color-based motion capture. The resulting robotic device was built to accommodate multiple finger sizes and finger-to-finger widths. For initial evaluation, we asked individuals with a stroke (n = 16) and without impairment (n = 4) to play a game similar to Guitar Hero® while connected to FINGER. Results Precision design, low friction bearings, and separate high speed linear actuators allowed FINGER to individually actuate the fingers with a high bandwidth of control (−3 dB at approximately 8 Hz). During the tests, we were able to modulate the subject’s success rate at the game by automatically adjusting the controller gains of FINGER. We also used FINGER to measure subjects’ effort and finger individuation while playing the game. Conclusions Test results demonstrate the ability of FINGER to motivate subjects with an engaging game environment that challenges individuated control of the fingers, automatically control assistance levels, and quantify finger individuation after stroke. PMID:24495432

Control of a powered prosthetic device via a pinch gesture interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yetkin, Oguz; Wallace, Kristi; Sanford, Joseph D.; Popa, Dan O.

2015-06-01

A novel system is presented to control a powered prosthetic device using a gesture tracking system worn on a user's sound hand in order to detect different grasp patterns. Experiments are presented with two different gesture tracking systems: one comprised of Conductive Thimbles worn on each finger (Conductive Thimble system), and another comprised of a glove which leaves the fingers free (Conductive Glove system). Timing tests were performed on the selection and execution of two grasp patterns using the Conductive Thimble system and the iPhone app provided by the manufacturer. A modified Box and Blocks test was performed using Conductive Glove system and the iPhone app provided by Touch Bionics. The best prosthetic device performance is reported with the developed Conductive Glove system in this test. Results show that these low encumbrance gesture-based wearable systems for selecting grasp patterns may provide a viable alternative to EMG and other prosthetic control modalities, especially for new prosthetic users who are not trained in using EMG signals.

Minimal model for a hydrodynamic fingering instability in microroller suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delmotte, Blaise; Donev, Aleksandar; Driscoll, Michelle; Chaikin, Paul

2017-11-01

We derive a minimal continuum model to investigate the hydrodynamic mechanism behind the fingering instability recently discovered in a suspension of microrollers near a floor [M. Driscoll et al., Nat. Phys. 13, 375 (2017), 10.1038/nphys3970]. Our model, consisting of two continuous lines of rotlets, exhibits a linear instability driven only by hydrodynamic interactions and reproduces the length-scale selection observed in large-scale particle simulations and in experiments. By adjusting only one parameter, the distance between the two lines, our dispersion relation exhibits quantitative agreement with the simulations and qualitative agreement with experimental measurements. Our linear stability analysis indicates that this instability is caused by the combination of the advective and transverse flows generated by the microrollers near a no-slip surface. Our simple model offers an interesting formalism to characterize other hydrodynamic instabilities that have not been well understood, such as size scale selection in suspensions of particles sedimenting adjacent to a wall, or the recently observed formations of traveling phonons in systems of confined driven particles.

The Design of Hand Gestures for Human-Computer Interaction: Lessons from Sign Language Interpreters

PubMed Central

Rempel, David; Camilleri, Matt J.; Lee, David L.

2015-01-01

The design and selection of 3D modeled hand gestures for human-computer interaction should follow principles of natural language combined with the need to optimize gesture contrast and recognition. The selection should also consider the discomfort and fatigue associated with distinct hand postures and motions, especially for common commands. Sign language interpreters have extensive and unique experience forming hand gestures and many suffer from hand pain while gesturing. Professional sign language interpreters (N=24) rated discomfort for hand gestures associated with 47 characters and words and 33 hand postures. Clear associations of discomfort with hand postures were identified. In a nominal logistic regression model, high discomfort was associated with gestures requiring a flexed wrist, discordant adjacent fingers, or extended fingers. These and other findings should be considered in the design of hand gestures to optimize the relationship between human cognitive and physical processes and computer gesture recognition systems for human-computer input. PMID:26028955

Development of cylindrical-type finger force measuring system using force sensors and its characteristics evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyeon-Min; Yoon, Joungwon; Shin, Hee-Suk; Kim, Gab-Soon

2012-02-01

Some patients cannot use their hands because of the paralysis of their fingers. Their fingers can recover with rehabilitative training, and the extent of rehabilitation can be judged by grasping a cylindrical-object with their fingers. At present, the cylindrical-object used in hospitals is only a plastic cylinder, which cannot measure grasping force of the fingers. Therefore, doctors must judge the extent of rehabilitation by watching patients' fingers as they grasp the plastic cylinder. In this paper, the development of two cylindrical-type finger force measuring systems with four force sensors for left hand and right hand were developed. The developed finger force measuring system can measure the grasping force of patients' each finger (forefinger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger), and the measured results could be used to judge the rehabilitation extent of a finger patient. The grasping force tests of men and women were performed using the developed cylindrical-type finger force measuring systems. The tests confirm that the average finger forces of right hand and left hand for men were about 194 N and 179 N, and for women, 108 N and 95 N.

Robotic End Effectors for Hard-Rock Climbing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Brett; Leger, Patrick

2004-01-01

Special-purpose robot hands (end effectors) now under development are intended to enable robots to traverse cliffs much as human climbers do. Potential applications for robots having this capability include scientific exploration (both on Earth and other rocky bodies in space), military reconnaissance, and outdoor search and rescue operations. Until now, enabling robots to traverse cliffs has been considered too difficult a task because of the perceived need of prohibitively sophisticated planning algorithms as well as end effectors as dexterous as human hands. The present end effectors are being designed to enable robots to attach themselves to typical rock-face features with less planning and simpler end effectors. This advance is based on the emulation of the equipment used by human climbers rather than the emulation of the human hand. Climbing-aid equipment, specifically cams, aid hooks, and cam hooks, are used by sport climbers when a quick ascent of a cliff is desired (see Figure 1). Currently two different end-effector designs have been created. The first, denoted the simple hook emulator, consists of three "fingers" arranged around a central "palm." Each finger emulates the function of a particular type of climbing hook (aid hook, wide cam hook, and a narrow cam hook). These fingers are connected to the palm via a mechanical linkage actuated with a leadscrew/nut. This mechanism allows the fingers to be extended or retracted. The second design, denoted the advanced hook emulator (see Figure 2), shares these features, but it incorporates an aid hook and a cam hook into each finger. The spring-loading of the aid hook allows the passive selection of the type of hook used. The end effectors can be used in several different modes. In the aid-hook mode, the aid hook on one of the fingers locks onto a horizontal ledge while the other two fingers act to stabilize the end effector against the cliff face. In the cam-hook mode, the broad, flat tip of the cam hook is inserted into a non-horizontal crack in the cliff face. A subsequent transfer of weight onto the end effector causes the tip to rotate within the crack, creating a passive, self-locking action of the hook relative to the crack. In the advanced hook emulator, the aid hook is pushed into its retracted position by contact with the cliff face as the cam hook tip is inserted into the crack. When a cliff face contains relatively large pockets or cracks, another type of passive self-locking can be used. Emulating the function of the piece of climbing equipment called a "cam" (note: not the same as a "cam hook"; see Figure 1), the fingers can be fully retracted and the entire end effector inserted into the feature. The fingers are then extended as far as the feature allows. Any weight then transferred to the end effector will tend to extend the fingers further due to frictional force, passively increasing the grip on the feature. In addition to the climbing modes, these end effectors can be used to walk on (either on the palm or the fingertips) and to grasp objects by fully extending the fingers.

A self-strain feedback tuning-fork-shaped ionic polymer metal composite clamping actuator with soft matter elasticity-detecting capability for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Feng, Guo-Hua; Huang, Wei-Lun

2014-12-01

This paper presents a smart tuning-fork-shaped ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) clamping actuator for biomedical applications. The two fingers of the actuator, which perform the clamping motion, can be electrically controlled through a unique electrode design on the IPMC material. The generated displacement or strain of the fingers can be sensed using an integrated soft strain-gage sensor. The IPMC actuator and associated soft strain gage were fabricated using a micromachining technique. A 13.5×4×2 mm(3) actuator was shaped from Nafion solution and a selectively grown metal electrode formed the active region. The strain gage consisted of patterned copper foil and polyethylene as a substrate. The relationship between the strain gage voltage output and the displacement at the front end of the actuator's fingers was characterized. The equivalent Young's modulus, 13.65 MPa, of the soft-strain-gage-integrated IPMC finger was analyzed. The produced clamping force exhibited a linear increasing rate of 1.07 mN/s, based on a dc driving voltage of 7 V. Using the developed actuator to clamp soft matter and simultaneously acquire its Young's modulus was achieved. This demonstrated the feasibility of the palpation function and the potential use of the actuator in minimally invasive surgery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inhibitory Effects of Thai Essential Oils on Potentially Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus.

PubMed

Jantapan, Kittika; Poapolathep, Amnart; Imsilp, Kanjana; Poapolathep, Saranya; Tanhan, Phanwimol; Kumagai, Susumu; Jermnak, Usuma

2017-01-01

　The antiaflatoxigenic and antifungal activities of essential oils (EOs) of finger root (Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf.), pine (Pinus pinaster), rosewood (Aniba rosaedora), Siam benzoin (Styrax tonkinensis), Thai moringa (Moringa oleifera), and ylang ylang (Cananga odorata) were tested for Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus in potato dextrose broth. Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) was extracted from culture using a QuEChERS-based extraction procedure and analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a fluorescence detector. EO of pine showed the greatest inhibition of growth and AFB 1 production of A. parasiticus, followed by EOs of rosewood, finger root, Siam benzoin, and ylang ylang. EO of finger root gave the best inhibitory effects on A. flavus, followed by EOs of rosewood, pine, ylang ylang, and Siam benzoin. EO of Thai moringa did not show any significant inhibition of aflatoxigenic fungi. The antiaflatoxigenic activities of EOs correlated with their antifungal activities in the dosedependent manner. Comparison of the application of the five selected EOs in peanut pods by direct and vapor exposure indicated that the AFB 1 production inhibitory effects of the five EOs by direct exposure were faster and more effective than by vapor exposure. EO of finger root showed the best inhibition of AFB 1 production of A. flavus in peanut pods by direct exposure, followed by EOs of pine, rosewood, ylang ylang, and Siam benzoin.

A Deficit in Older Adults' Effortful Selection of Cued Responses

PubMed Central

Proctor, Robert W.; Vu, Kim-Phuong L.; Pick, David F.

2007-01-01

J. J. Adam et al. (1998) provided evidence for an “age-related deficit in preparing 2 fingers on 2 hands, but not on 1 hand” (p. 870). Instead of having an anatomical basis, the deficit could result from the effortful processing required for individuals to select cued subsets of responses that do not coincide with left and right subgroups. The deficit also could involve either the ultimate benefit that can be attained or the time required to attain that benefit. The authors report 3 experiments (Ns = 40, 48, and 32 participants, respectively) in which they tested those distinctions by using an overlapped hand placement (participants alternated the index and middle fingers of the hands), a normal hand placement, and longer precuing intervals than were used in previous studies. The older adults were able to achieve the full precuing benefit shown by younger adults but required longer to achieve the maximal benefit for most pairs of responses. The deficit did not depend on whether the responses were from different hands, suggesting that it lies primarily in the effortful processing required for those subsets of cued responses that are not selected easily. PMID:16801319

[Treatment of trigger finger with located needle knife].

PubMed

Zhang, Qi-Feng; Yang, Jiang; Xi, Sheng-Hua

2016-07-25

To investigate the clinical effects of located needle knife in the treatment of trigger finger. The clinical data of 133 patients(145 fingers) with trigger finger underwent treatment with located needle knife from September 2010 to March 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 37 males(40 fingers) and 96 females (105 fingers), aged from 18 to 71 years old with a mean of 51.8 years. Course of disease was from 1 to 19 months with an average of 8.2 months. Affected fingers included 82 thumbs, 12 index fingers, 11 middle fingers, 36 ring fingers, and 4 little fingers. According to the standard of Quinnell grade, 42 fingers were grade III, 92 fingers were grade IV, and 11 fingers were grade V. Firstly the double pipe gab was put into the distal edge of hypertrophic tendon sheath, then small knife needle was used to release the sheath proximally along the tendon line direction. The informations of wound healing and nerve injury, postoperative finger function, finger pain at 6 months were observed. The operation time was from 8 to 25 min with an average of 9.8 min. All the patients were followed up from 6 to 26 months with an average of 12.5 months. No complications such as the wound inflammation and seepage, vascular or nerve injuries were found. According to the standard of Quinnell grade, 123 fingers got excellent results, 15 good, 7 poor. It's a good choice to treat trigger finger with located needle knife in advantage of minimal invasion, simple safe operation, and it should be promoted in clinic.

An estimation of finger-tapping rates and load capacities and the effects of various factors.

PubMed

Ekşioğlu, Mahmut; İşeri, Ali

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was to estimate the finger-tapping rates and finger load capacities of eight fingers (excluding thumbs) for a healthy adult population and investigate the effects of various factors on tapping rate. Finger-tapping rate, the total number of finger taps per unit of time, can be used as a design parameter of various products and also as a psychomotor test for evaluating patients with neurologic problems. A 1-min tapping task was performed by 148 participants with maximum volitional tempo for each of eight fingers. For each of the tapping tasks, the participant with the corresponding finger tapped the associated key in the standard position on the home row of a conventional keyboard for touch typing. The index and middle fingers were the fastest fingers for both hands, and little fingers the slowest. All dominant-hand fingers, except little finger, had higher tapping rates than the fastest finger of the nondominant hand. Tapping rate decreased with age and smokers tapped faster than nonsmokers. Tapping duration and exercise had also significant effect on tapping rate. Normative data of tapping rates and load capacities of eight fingers were estimated for the adult population. In designs of psychomotor tests that require the use of tapping rate or finger load capacity data, the effects of finger, age, smoking, and tapping duration need to be taken into account. The findings can be used for ergonomic designs requiring finger-tapping capacity and also as a reference in psychomotor tests. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Genomic tools and and prospects for new breeding techniques in flower bulb crops

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For many of the new breeding techniques, sequence information is of the utmost importance. In addition to current breeding techniques, such as marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genetic modification (GM), new breeding techniques such as zinc finger nucleases, oligonucleotide-mediated mutagenesis, R...

[The reconstruction of the human body length from the wrist size].

PubMed

Grigor'eva, M A; Anushkina, E S

2015-01-01

The objective of the present study was to develop the regression models for the reconstruction of the human body length from the wrist size taking into consideration the availability of the results of the measurements of the palm fragments or the wrist undergoing muscular contracture. The study included 106 Caucasoid subjects (41 men and 65 women) at the age varying from 18 to 76 years. The following parameters were measured: body length, wrist length, the length of the fingers and phalanges on the back of the hand, palmar length and width, ulnar edge size of the palm. It was shown that the selected longitudinal dimensions of the palm and fingers can be used to estimate the body length as accurately as from the wrist length. The high prognostic value of ulnar edge size of the palm was documented which allows this characteristic to be used in the cases of partial palm destruction or in the wrist with pronounced flexion contracture of the fingers. The most exact equations are those derived from the combination of the results of the measurement of the fingers and the ulnar edge size of the palm. Less accurate equations are based on the palmar dimensions alone and on the total wrist size with the exception of the equation for the wrist length with regard to the subject's sex. The gender information needs to be taken into account if the wrist is preserved to the extent that only the length of the palm and of the IV and V fingers can be measured or if the wrist is sufficiently long and wide (short and wide) and the gender is supposed to be masculine. In contrast, this information should be disregarded if the wrist is long and narrow (short and narrow) and the gender is supposedly feminine.

Dissociable neural responses to hands and non-hand body parts in human left extrastriate visual cortex.

PubMed

Bracci, Stefania; Ietswaart, Magdalena; Peelen, Marius V; Cavina-Pratesi, Cristiana

2010-06-01

Accumulating evidence points to a map of visual regions encoding specific categories of objects. For example, a region in the human extrastriate visual cortex, the extrastriate body area (EBA), has been implicated in the visual processing of bodies and body parts. Although in the monkey, neurons selective for hands have been reported, in humans it is unclear whether areas selective for individual body parts such as the hand exist. Here, we conducted two functional MRI experiments to test for hand-preferring responses in the human extrastriate visual cortex. We found evidence for a hand-preferring region in left lateral occipitotemporal cortex in all 14 participants. This region, located in the lateral occipital sulcus, partially overlapped with left EBA, but could be functionally and anatomically dissociated from it. In experiment 2, we further investigated the functional profile of hand- and body-preferring regions by measuring responses to hands, fingers, feet, assorted body parts (arms, legs, torsos), and non-biological handlike stimuli such as robotic hands. The hand-preferring region responded most strongly to hands, followed by robotic hands, fingers, and feet, whereas its response to assorted body parts did not significantly differ from baseline. By contrast, EBA responded most strongly to body parts, followed by hands and feet, and did not significantly respond to robotic hands or fingers. Together, these results provide evidence for a representation of the hand in extrastriate visual cortex that is distinct from the representation of other body parts.

Comparison of Pressures Applied by Digital Tourniquets in the Emergency Department

PubMed Central

Lahham, Shadi; Tu, Khoa; Ni, Mickey; Tran, Viet; Lotfipour, Shahram; Anderson, Craig L.; Fox, J Christian

2011-01-01

Background: Digital tourniquets used in the emergency department have been scrutinized due to complications associated with their use, including neurovascular injury secondary to excessive tourniquet pressure and digital ischemia caused by a forgotten tourniquet. To minimize these risks, a conspicuous tourniquet that applies the least amount of pressure necessary to maintain hemostasis is recommended. Objective: To evaluate the commonly used tourniquet methods, the Penrose drain, rolled glove, the Tourni-cot and the T-Ring, to determine which applies the lowest pressure while consistently preventing digital perfusion. Methods: We measured the circumference of selected digits of 200 adult males and 200 adult females to determine the adult finger size range. We then measured the pressure applied to four representative finger sizes using a pressure monitor and assessed the ability of each method to prevent digital blood flow with a pulse oximeter. Results: We selected four representative finger sizes: 45mm, 65mm, 70mm, and 85mm to test the different tourniquet methods. All methods consistently prevented digital perfusion. The highest pressure recorded for the Penrose drain was 727 mmHg, the clamped rolled glove 439, the unclamped rolled glove 267, Tourni-cot 246, while the T-Ring had the lowest at 151 mmHg and least variable pressures of all methods. Conclusion: All tested methods provided adequate hemostasis. Only the Tourni-cot and T-Ring provided hemostasis at safe pressures across all digit sizes with the T-Ring having a lower overall average pressure. PMID:21691536

Dissociable Neural Responses to Hands and Non-Hand Body Parts in Human Left Extrastriate Visual Cortex

PubMed Central

Ietswaart, Magdalena; Peelen, Marius V.; Cavina-Pratesi, Cristiana

2010-01-01

Accumulating evidence points to a map of visual regions encoding specific categories of objects. For example, a region in the human extrastriate visual cortex, the extrastriate body area (EBA), has been implicated in the visual processing of bodies and body parts. Although in the monkey, neurons selective for hands have been reported, in humans it is unclear whether areas selective for individual body parts such as the hand exist. Here, we conducted two functional MRI experiments to test for hand-preferring responses in the human extrastriate visual cortex. We found evidence for a hand-preferring region in left lateral occipitotemporal cortex in all 14 participants. This region, located in the lateral occipital sulcus, partially overlapped with left EBA, but could be functionally and anatomically dissociated from it. In experiment 2, we further investigated the functional profile of hand- and body-preferring regions by measuring responses to hands, fingers, feet, assorted body parts (arms, legs, torsos), and non-biological handlike stimuli such as robotic hands. The hand-preferring region responded most strongly to hands, followed by robotic hands, fingers, and feet, whereas its response to assorted body parts did not significantly differ from baseline. By contrast, EBA responded most strongly to body parts, followed by hands and feet, and did not significantly respond to robotic hands or fingers. Together, these results provide evidence for a representation of the hand in extrastriate visual cortex that is distinct from the representation of other body parts. PMID:20393066

Effects of spatial disturbance on common loon nest site selection and territory success

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCarthy, Kyle P.; DeStefano, Stephen

2011-01-01

The common loon (Gavia immer) breeds during the summer on northern lakes and water bodies that are also often desirable areas for aquatic recreation and human habitation. In northern New England, we assessed how the spatial nature of disturbance affects common loon nest site selection and territory success. We found through classification and regression analysis that distance to and density of disturbance factors can be used to classify observed nest site locations versus random points, suggesting that these factors affect loon nest site selection (model 1: Correct classification = 75%, null = 50%, K = 0.507, P < 0.001; model 2: Correct classification = 78%, null = 50%, K = 0.551, P < 0.001). However, in an exploratory analysis, we were unable to show a relation between spatial disturbance variables and breeding success (P = 0.595, R2 = 0.436), possibly because breeding success was so low during the breeding seasons of 2007–2008. We suggest that by selecting nest site locations that avoid disturbance factors, loons thereby limit the effect that disturbance will have on their breeding success. Still, disturbance may force loons to use sub-optimal nesting habitat, limiting the available number of territories, and overall productivity. We advise that management efforts focus on limiting disturbance factors to allow breeding pairs access to the best nesting territories, relieving disturbance pressures that may force sub-optimal nest placement.

Perceiving fingers in single-digit arithmetic problems.

PubMed

Berteletti, Ilaria; Booth, James R

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigate in children the neural underpinnings of finger representation and finger movement involved in single-digit arithmetic problems. Evidence suggests that finger representation and finger-based strategies play an important role in learning and understanding arithmetic. Because different operations rely on different networks, we compared activation for subtraction and multiplication problems in independently localized finger somatosensory and motor areas and tested whether activation was related to skill. Brain activations from children between 8 and 13 years of age revealed that only subtraction problems significantly activated finger motor areas, suggesting reliance on finger-based strategies. In addition, larger subtraction problems yielded greater somatosensory activation than smaller problems, suggesting a greater reliance on finger representation for larger numerical values. Interestingly, better performance in subtraction problems was associated with lower activation in the finger somatosensory area. Our results support the importance of fine-grained finger representation in arithmetical skill and are the first neurological evidence for a functional role of the somatosensory finger area in proficient arithmetical problem solving, in particular for those problems requiring quantity manipulation. From an educational perspective, these results encourage investigating whether different finger-based strategies facilitate arithmetical understanding and encourage educational practices aiming at integrating finger representation and finger-based strategies as a tool for instilling stronger numerical sense.

Perceiving fingers in single-digit arithmetic problems

PubMed Central

Berteletti, Ilaria; Booth, James R.

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigate in children the neural underpinnings of finger representation and finger movement involved in single-digit arithmetic problems. Evidence suggests that finger representation and finger-based strategies play an important role in learning and understanding arithmetic. Because different operations rely on different networks, we compared activation for subtraction and multiplication problems in independently localized finger somatosensory and motor areas and tested whether activation was related to skill. Brain activations from children between 8 and 13 years of age revealed that only subtraction problems significantly activated finger motor areas, suggesting reliance on finger-based strategies. In addition, larger subtraction problems yielded greater somatosensory activation than smaller problems, suggesting a greater reliance on finger representation for larger numerical values. Interestingly, better performance in subtraction problems was associated with lower activation in the finger somatosensory area. Our results support the importance of fine-grained finger representation in arithmetical skill and are the first neurological evidence for a functional role of the somatosensory finger area in proficient arithmetical problem solving, in particular for those problems requiring quantity manipulation. From an educational perspective, these results encourage investigating whether different finger-based strategies facilitate arithmetical understanding and encourage educational practices aiming at integrating finger representation and finger-based strategies as a tool for instilling stronger numerical sense. PMID:25852582

Activity patterns of extrinsic finger flexors and extensors during movements of instructed and non-instructed fingers.

PubMed

van Beek, Nathalie; Stegeman, Dick F; van den Noort, Josien C; H E J Veeger, DirkJan; Maas, Huub

2018-02-01

The fingers of the human hand cannot be controlled fully independently. This phenomenon may have a neurological as well as a mechanical basis. Despite previous studies, the neuromechanics of finger movements are not fully understood. The aims of this study were (1) to assess the activation and coactivation patterns of finger specific flexor and extensor muscle regions during instructed single finger flexion and (2) to determine the relationship between enslaved finger movements and respective finger muscle activation. In 9 healthy subjects (age 22-29), muscle activation was assessed during single finger flexion using a 90 surface electromyography electrode grid placed over the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) and the extensor digitorum (ED). We found (1) no significant differences in muscle activation timing between fingers, (2) considerable muscle activity in flexor and extensor regions associated with the non-instructed fingers and (3) no correlation between the muscle activations and corresponding movement of non-instructed fingers. A clear disparity was found between the movement pattern of the non-instructed fingers and the activity pattern of the corresponding muscle regions. This suggests that mechanical factors, such as intertendinous and myofascial connections, may also affect finger movement independency and need to be taken into consideration when studying finger movement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of the total force in multi-finger pressing tasks studied with the ‘inverse piano’ technique

PubMed Central

Martin, J.R.; Budgeon, M.K.; Zatsiorsky, V.M.; Latash, M.L.

2010-01-01

When one finger changes its force, other fingers of the hand can show unintended force changes in the same direction (enslaving) and in the opposite direction (error compensation). We tested a hypothesis that externally imposed changes in finger force predominantly lead to error compensation effects in other fingers thus stabilizing the total force. A novel device, the “inverse piano”, was used to impose controlled displacements to one of the fingers over different magnitudes and at different rates. Subjects (n =10) pressed with four fingers at a constant force level and then one of the fingers was unexpectedly raised. The subjects were instructed not to interfere with possible changes in the finger forces. Raising a finger caused an increase in its force and a drop in the force of the other three fingers. Overall, total force showed a small increase. Larger force drops were seen in neighbors of the raised finger (proximity effect). The results show that multi-finger force stabilizing synergies dominate during involuntary reactions to externally imposed finger force changes. Within the referent configuration hypothesis, the data suggest that the instruction “not to interfere” leads to adjustments of the referent coordinates of all the individual fingers. PMID:21450360

Comparison between fingerprints of the epidermis and dermis: Perspectives in the identifying of corpses.

PubMed

Mizokami, Leila Lopes; Silva, Lara Rosana Vieira; Kückelhaus, Selma Aparecida Souza

2015-07-01

In forensic science, the putrefaction, maceration, mummification or burning make it difficult to collect the fingerprints of the epidermis for identification purposes. In such cases, the comparison between fingerprints collected from the dermal surface and the ante mortem pattern of the epidermal surface archived in databases must be performed. Therefore, considering that the identification of corpses is done by comparison of fingerprints on different surfaces, this study aimed to compare the epidermal and the dermal fingerprints to determine the discrepancies between the minutiae of both surfaces. The study was conducted with excised fingers of 19 fresh adult corpses. Once selected, excised and photographed, the fingers were subjected to maceration with 0.5% acetic acid solution for the removal of the epidermal glove and for registering the dermal fingerprint. Then, an area of 1cm(2) in the epidermal and dermal photographies was selected and the minutiae of each were separately marked by an expert in identification. The comparison between minutiae of the epidermal and dermal surfaces showed that: (1) both surfaces maintained the patterns and characteristics of fingerprints (arch, whorl or loop) and the characteristics related to the systems and the disposal of the lines, meaning the formation or not of deltas; (2) the total number of marked minutiae did not differ between both surfaces for the group of individuals (paired t test, p=0.48); (3) the percentage of coincidences and divergences (minutiae present on only one surface) between minutiae were 63.0±20.0% and 37.0±20.0%, respectively; (4) identification was possible for 16 fingers/individuals, but not for 3 of them; (5) the increase in the number of marked minutiae does not affect the percentage of coincidences. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of the dermal surface for identification purposes due to the high percentage of matching minutiae, but considering the discrepancies and the inconclusive identification of 3 fingers/individuals, our study points to the use of more fingers per individual, as well as the possibility of further studies to improve on the techniques for increasing the identification of corpses, or even to deploy new technologies to ensure their rapid and safe identification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lipid Gymnastics: Tethers and Fingers in membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tayebi, Lobat; Miller, Gregory; Parikh, Atul

2009-03-01

A significant body of evidence now links local mesoscopic structure (e.g., shape and composition) of the cell membrane with its function; the mechanisms by which cellular membranes adopt the specific shapes remain poorly understood. Among all the different structures adopted by cellular membranes, the tubular shape is one of the most surprising one. While their formation is typically attributed to the reorganization of membrane cytoskeleton, many exceptions exist. We report the instantaneous formation of tubular membrane mesophases following the hydration under specific thermal conditions. The shapes emerge in a bimodal way where we have two distinct diameter ranges for tubes, ˜20μm and ˜1μm, namely fat fingers and narrow tethers. We study the roughening of hydrated drops of 3 lipids in 3 different spontaneous curvatures at various temp. and ionic strength to figure out the dominant effect in selection of tethers and fingers. Dynamics of the tubes are of particular interest where we observe four distinct steps of birth, coiling, uncoiling and retraction with different lifetime on different thermal condition. These dynamics appear to reflect interplay between membrane elasticity, surface adhesion, and thermal or hydrodynamic gradient.

Mallet finger - aftercare

MedlinePlus

Baseball finger - aftercare; Drop finger - aftercare; Avulsion fracture - mallet finger - aftercare ... away from the rest of the bone (avulsion fracture) Mallet finger most often occurs when something hits ...

Patterns of Dupuytren disease in fingers: studying correlations with a multivariate ordinal logit model.

PubMed

Lanting, Rosanne; Nooraee, Nazanin; Werker, Paul M N; van den Heuvel, Edwin R

2014-09-01

Dupuytren disease affects fingers in a variable fashion. Knowledge about specific disease patterns (phenotype) based on location and severity of the disease is lacking. In this cross-sectional study, 344 primary affected hands with Dupuytren disease were physically examined. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the coexistence of Dupuytren disease in pairs of fingers was calculated, and agglomerative hierarchical clustering was applied to identify possible clusters of affected fingers. With a multivariate ordinal logit model, the authors studied the correlation on severity, taking into account age and sex, and tested hypotheses on independence between groups of fingers. The ring finger was most frequently affected by Dupuytren disease, and contractures were seen in 15.1 percent of affected rays. The severity of thumb and index finger, middle and ring fingers, and middle and little fingers was significantly correlated. Occurrences in pairs of fingers were highest in the middle and ring fingers and lowest in the thumb and index finger. Correlation between the ring and little fingers and a correlation between fingers from the ulnar and radial sides could not be demonstrated. Rays on the ulnar side of the hand are predominantly affected. The middle finger is substantially correlated with other fingers on the ulnar side, and the thumb and index finger are correlated; however, there was no evidence that the ulnar side and the radial side were correlated in any way, which suggests that occurrence on one side of the hand does not predict Dupuytren disease on the other side of the hand. Risk, III.

Adaptive flexibility of the within-hand attentional gradient in touch: An MEG study.

PubMed

Kida, Tetsuo; Tanaka, Emi; Kakigi, Ryusuke

2018-06-21

Previous studies have demonstrated the cortical mechanisms for the gradient of spatial attention in vision and audition, whereas those for touch have yet to be elucidated in detail. In order to examine the within-hand gradient of tactile spatial attention in the cerebral cortex, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to record cortical responses to an electrocutaneous stimulation presented randomly to any of the five fingers of the right hand at a random interstimulus interval (750-1250 ms). Participants attended to the index finger, ring finger, or both to detect a rare target stimulus in a sequence of frequent standard stimuli presented to the attended finger(s) by silent counting. Neuromagnetic responses around the contralateral primary and secondary somatosensory cortices (SIc and SIIc) at 50-70 ms and 80-100 ms, respectively, for the stimulation of the index or ring finger were stronger when that finger was attended than when the distant finger was attended or at rest. The amplitude of the SIIc response was also intermediate when the index and ring fingers were simultaneously attended. The SIIc response to the task-irrelevant stimulation of the thumb or little finger increased when the index or ring finger was attended, respectively, suggesting an across-finger gradient of tactile attention. Simultaneous attention to the index and ring fingers decreased the SIIc response to the task-irrelevant stimulation of the intervening middle finger more than that with attention to either one of the two fingers. The earliest attentional sign was observed for the SI M40c response, with the amplitude increasing with the stimulation of the unattended finger. Furthermore, late responses in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were stronger with the stimulation of the unattended finger than with that of the attended finger. Thus, the present study provides cortical evidence for the adaptive control of the within-hand, across-finger gradient of tactile attention that depends on whether attention is focused on a single finger or divided into non-adjacent different fingers. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Finger wear detection for production line battery tester

DOEpatents

Depiante, Eduardo V.

1997-01-01

A method for detecting wear in a battery tester probe. The method includes providing a battery tester unit having at least one tester finger, generating a tester signal using the tester fingers and battery tester unit with the signal characteristic of the electrochemical condition of the battery and the tester finger, applying wavelet transformation to the tester signal including computing a mother wavelet to produce finger wear indicator signals, analyzing the signals to create a finger wear index, comparing the wear index for the tester finger with the index for a new tester finger and generating a tester finger signal change signal to indicate achieving a threshold wear change.

Scattering Removal for Finger-Vein Image Restoration

PubMed Central

Yang, Jinfeng; Zhang, Ben; Shi, Yihua

2012-01-01

Finger-vein recognition has received increased attention recently. However, the finger-vein images are always captured in poor quality. This certainly makes finger-vein feature representation unreliable, and further impairs the accuracy of finger-vein recognition. In this paper, we first give an analysis of the intrinsic factors causing finger-vein image degradation, and then propose a simple but effective image restoration method based on scattering removal. To give a proper description of finger-vein image degradation, a biological optical model (BOM) specific to finger-vein imaging is proposed according to the principle of light propagation in biological tissues. Based on BOM, the light scattering component is sensibly estimated and properly removed for finger-vein image restoration. Finally, experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is powerful in enhancing the finger-vein image contrast and in improving the finger-vein image matching accuracy. PMID:22737028

Overcoming Learning Aversion in Evaluating and Managing Uncertain Risks.

PubMed

Cox, Louis Anthony Tony

2015-10-01

Decision biases can distort cost-benefit evaluations of uncertain risks, leading to risk management policy decisions with predictably high retrospective regret. We argue that well-documented decision biases encourage learning aversion, or predictably suboptimal learning and premature decision making in the face of high uncertainty about the costs, risks, and benefits of proposed changes. Biases such as narrow framing, overconfidence, confirmation bias, optimism bias, ambiguity aversion, and hyperbolic discounting of the immediate costs and delayed benefits of learning, contribute to deficient individual and group learning, avoidance of information seeking, underestimation of the value of further information, and hence needlessly inaccurate risk-cost-benefit estimates and suboptimal risk management decisions. In practice, such biases can create predictable regret in selection of potential risk-reducing regulations. Low-regret learning strategies based on computational reinforcement learning models can potentially overcome some of these suboptimal decision processes by replacing aversion to uncertain probabilities with actions calculated to balance exploration (deliberate experimentation and uncertainty reduction) and exploitation (taking actions to maximize the sum of expected immediate reward, expected discounted future reward, and value of information). We discuss the proposed framework for understanding and overcoming learning aversion and for implementing low-regret learning strategies using regulation of air pollutants with uncertain health effects as an example. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Finger posture modulates structural body representations

PubMed Central

Tamè, Luigi; Dransfield, Elanah; Quettier, Thomas; Longo, Matthew R.

2017-01-01

Patients with lesions of the left posterior parietal cortex commonly fail in identifying their fingers, a condition known as finger agnosia, yet are relatively unimpaired in sensation and skilled action. Such dissociations have traditionally been interpreted as evidence that structural body representations (BSR), such as the body structural description, are distinct from sensorimotor representations, such as the body schema. We investigated whether performance on tasks commonly used to assess finger agnosia is modulated by changes in hand posture. We used the ‘in between’ test in which participants estimate the number of unstimulated fingers between two touched fingers or a localization task in which participants judge which two fingers were stimulated. Across blocks, the fingers were placed in three levels of splay. Judged finger numerosity was analysed, in Exp. 1 by direct report and in Exp. 2 as the actual number of fingers between the fingers named. In both experiments, judgments were greater when non-adjacent stimulated fingers were positioned far apart compared to when they were close together or touching, whereas judgements were unaltered when adjacent fingers were stimulated. This demonstrates that BSRs are not fixed, but are modulated by the real-time physical distances between body parts. PMID:28223685

Clinical differences among nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs: implications for therapeutic substitution in ambulatory patients.

PubMed

Levy, R A; Smith, D L

1989-01-01

The practice of therapeutic substitution, i.e., replacing one drug with another chemically different drug from the same therapeutic class, represents an important therapeutic modification with potential clinical significance far beyond that of generic substitution. Adverse consequences following therapeutic substitution of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) is of special concern because of substantial differences among these agents in pharmacokinetic, pharmacological, and clinical properties. Therapeutic substitution of NSAID for ambulatory patients may result in compromised clinical outcome because (1) patient response is unpredictable and selection of the optimal agent must be tailored for each patient; (2) substantial differences exist in adverse reaction profiles; (3) drug interaction studies are lacking; and (4) selection of an agent must be individualized to ensure compliance with the dosing regimen. Cost savings achieved through therapeutic substitution of NSAID may be lost by additional overall treatment costs due to adverse reactions or suboptimal therapy. The occurrence of adverse or suboptimal effects in ambulatory patients is more likely if NSAID are substituted without full knowledge of the patient's medical history and clinical status. Communication between the pharmacy and prescribing physician regarding a patient's specific needs is essential for rational substitution among NSAID.

Fitness disadvantages to disrupted embryogenesis impose selection against suboptimal nest-site choice by female grass snakes, Natrix natrix (Colubridae).

PubMed

Löwenborg, K; Shine, R; Hagman, M

2011-01-01

Phenotypic traits of hatchling reptiles are strongly influenced by incubation regimes (e.g. of temperature and moisture), suggesting that maternal choice of suitable nest-sites should be under intense selection. Our laboratory incubation of 209 eggs (17 clutches) from wild-caught Swedish grass snakes (Natrix natrix) showed that scale abnormalities (half-scales on one side of the body, often reflecting lateral asymmetry in the number of ribs) occurred more frequently if eggs were incubated under cooler conditions. Especially at low incubation temperatures, individuals with scale asymmetries took longer to hatch than did symmetric conspecifics, were smaller in body length at hatching and were slower in trials of locomotor speed. Anti-predator tactics also covaried with scale asymmetry. These patterns suggest that individuals with asymmetric scales should have lower fitness and hence should rarely survive to adulthood in the wild. We tested this prediction by examining 201 field-collected snakes from museum collections. As predicted, scale asymmetries were seen primarily in small snakes, and rarely in larger animals. We interpret these data to suggest that scale asymmetries in this species offer an index of developmental instability and that fitness disadvantages to disrupted embryogenesis impose selection against suboptimal nest-site choice by females. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2010 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Design and analysis of an underactuated anthropomorphic finger for upper limb prosthetics.

PubMed

Omarkulov, Nurdos; Telegenov, Kuat; Zeinullin, Maralbek; Begalinova, Ainur; Shintemirov, Almas

2015-01-01

This paper presents the design of a linkage based finger mechanism ensuring extended range of anthropomorphic gripping motions. The finger design is done using a path-point generation method based on geometrical dimensions and motion of a typical index human finger. Following the design description, and its kinematics analysis, the experimental evaluation of the finger gripping performance is presented using the finger 3D printed prototype. The finger underactuation is achieved by utilizing mechanical linkage system, consisting of two crossed four-bar linkage mechanisms. It is shown that the proposed finger design can be used to design a five-fingered anthropomorphic hand and has the potential for upper limb prostheses development.

Finger wear detection for production line battery tester

DOEpatents

Depiante, E.V.

1997-11-18

A method is described for detecting wear in a battery tester probe. The method includes providing a battery tester unit having at least one tester finger, generating a tester signal using the tester fingers and battery tester unit with the signal characteristic of the electrochemical condition of the battery and the tester finger, applying wavelet transformation to the tester signal including computing a mother wavelet to produce finger wear indicator signals, analyzing the signals to create a finger wear index, comparing the wear index for the tester finger with the index for a new tester finger and generating a tester finger signal change signal to indicate achieving a threshold wear change. 9 figs.

Differing Dynamics of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Coordination: Two-finger and Four-Finger Tapping Experiments

PubMed Central

Kodama, Kentaro; Furuyama, Nobuhiro; Inamura, Tetsunari

2015-01-01

Finger-tapping experiments were conducted to examine whether the dynamics of intrapersonal and interpersonal coordination systems can be described equally by the Haken—Kelso—Bunz model, which describes inter-limb coordination dynamics. This article reports the results of finger-tapping experiments conducted in both systems. Two within-subject factors were investigated: the phase mode and the number of fingers. In the intrapersonal experiment (Experiment 1), the participants were asked to tap, paced by a gradually hastening auditory metronome, looking at their fingers moving, using the index finger in the two finger condition, or the index and middle finger in the four-finger condition. In the interpersonal experiment (Experiment 2), pairs of participants performed the task while each participant used the outside hand, tapping with the index finger in the two finger condition, or the index and middle finger in the four-finger condition. Some results did not agree with the HKB model predictions. First, from Experiment 1, no significant difference was observed in the movement stability between the in-phase and anti-phase modes in the two finger condition. Second, from Experiment 2, no significant difference was found in the movement stability between the in-phase and anti-phase mode in the four-finger condition. From these findings, different coordination dynamics were inferred between intrapersonal and interpersonal coordination systems against prediction from the previous studies. Results were discussed according to differences between intrapersonal and interpersonal coordination systems in the availability of perceptual information and the complexity in the interaction between limbs derived from a nested structure. PMID:26070119

Transfer of tactile perceptual learning to untrained neighboring fingers reflects natural use relationships

PubMed Central

Harrar, Vanessa; Oliver, Jonathan; Johansen-Berg, Heidi; Spence, Charles

2015-01-01

Tactile learning transfers from trained to untrained fingers in a pattern that reflects overlap between the representations of fingers in the somatosensory system (e.g., neurons with multifinger receptive fields). While physical proximity on the body is known to determine the topography of somatosensory representations, tactile coactivation is also an established organizing principle of somatosensory topography. In this study we investigated whether tactile coactivation, induced by habitual inter-finger cooperative use (use pattern), shapes inter-finger overlap. To this end, we used psychophysics to compare the transfer of tactile learning from the middle finger to its adjacent fingers. This allowed us to compare transfer to two fingers that are both physically and cortically adjacent to the middle finger but have differing use patterns. Specifically, the middle finger is used more frequently with the ring than with the index finger. We predicted this should lead to greater representational overlap between the former than the latter pair. Furthermore, this difference in overlap should be reflected in differential learning transfer from the middle to index vs. ring fingers. Subsequently, we predicted temporary learning-related changes in the middle finger's representation (e.g., cortical magnification) would cause transient interference in perceptual thresholds of the ring, but not the index, finger. Supporting this, longitudinal analysis revealed a divergence where learning transfer was fast to the index finger but relatively delayed to the ring finger. Our results support the theory that tactile coactivation patterns between digits affect their topographic relationships. Our findings emphasize how action shapes perception and somatosensory organization. PMID:26631145

Transfer of tactile perceptual learning to untrained neighboring fingers reflects natural use relationships.

PubMed

Dempsey-Jones, Harriet; Harrar, Vanessa; Oliver, Jonathan; Johansen-Berg, Heidi; Spence, Charles; Makin, Tamar R

2016-03-01

Tactile learning transfers from trained to untrained fingers in a pattern that reflects overlap between the representations of fingers in the somatosensory system (e.g., neurons with multifinger receptive fields). While physical proximity on the body is known to determine the topography of somatosensory representations, tactile coactivation is also an established organizing principle of somatosensory topography. In this study we investigated whether tactile coactivation, induced by habitual inter-finger cooperative use (use pattern), shapes inter-finger overlap. To this end, we used psychophysics to compare the transfer of tactile learning from the middle finger to its adjacent fingers. This allowed us to compare transfer to two fingers that are both physically and cortically adjacent to the middle finger but have differing use patterns. Specifically, the middle finger is used more frequently with the ring than with the index finger. We predicted this should lead to greater representational overlap between the former than the latter pair. Furthermore, this difference in overlap should be reflected in differential learning transfer from the middle to index vs. ring fingers. Subsequently, we predicted temporary learning-related changes in the middle finger's representation (e.g., cortical magnification) would cause transient interference in perceptual thresholds of the ring, but not the index, finger. Supporting this, longitudinal analysis revealed a divergence where learning transfer was fast to the index finger but relatively delayed to the ring finger. Our results support the theory that tactile coactivation patterns between digits affect their topographic relationships. Our findings emphasize how action shapes perception and somatosensory organization. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Feature Selection Methods for Robust Decoding of Finger Movements in a Non-human Primate

PubMed Central

Padmanaban, Subash; Baker, Justin; Greger, Bradley

2018-01-01

Objective: The performance of machine learning algorithms used for neural decoding of dexterous tasks may be impeded due to problems arising when dealing with high-dimensional data. The objective of feature selection algorithms is to choose a near-optimal subset of features from the original feature space to improve the performance of the decoding algorithm. The aim of our study was to compare the effects of four feature selection techniques, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Relative Importance, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Mutual Information Maximization on SVM classification performance for a dexterous decoding task. Approach: A nonhuman primate (NHP) was trained to perform small coordinated movements—similar to typing. An array of microelectrodes was implanted in the hand area of the motor cortex of the NHP and used to record action potentials (AP) during finger movements. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used to classify which finger movement the NHP was making based upon AP firing rates. We used the SVM classification to examine the functional parameters of (i) robustness to simulated failure and (ii) longevity of classification. We also compared the effect of using isolated-neuron and multi-unit firing rates as the feature vector supplied to the SVM. Main results: The average decoding accuracy for multi-unit features and single-unit features using Mutual Information Maximization (MIM) across 47 sessions was 96.74 ± 3.5% and 97.65 ± 3.36% respectively. The reduction in decoding accuracy between using 100% of the features and 10% of features based on MIM was 45.56% (from 93.7 to 51.09%) and 4.75% (from 95.32 to 90.79%) for multi-unit and single-unit features respectively. MIM had best performance compared to other feature selection methods. Significance: These results suggest improved decoding performance can be achieved by using optimally selected features. The results based on clinically relevant performance metrics also suggest that the decoding algorithm can be made robust by using optimal features and feature selection algorithms. We believe that even a few percent increase in performance is important and improves the decoding accuracy of the machine learning algorithm potentially increasing the ease of use of a brain machine interface. PMID:29467602

Impact of Finger Type in Fingerprint Authentication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gafurov, Davrondzhon; Bours, Patrick; Yang, Bian; Busch, Christoph

Nowadays fingerprint verification system is the most widespread and accepted biometric technology that explores various features of the human fingers for this purpose. In general, every normal person has 10 fingers with different size. Although it is claimed that recognition performance with little fingers can be less accurate compared to other finger types, to our best knowledge, this has not been investigated yet. This paper presents our study on the topic of influence of the finger type into fingerprint recognition performance. For analysis we employ two fingerprint verification software packages (one public and one commercial). We conduct test on GUC100 multi sensor fingerprint database which contains fingerprint images of all 10 fingers from 100 subjects. Our analysis indeed confirms that performance with small fingers is less accurate than performance with the others fingers of the hand. It also appears that best performance is being obtained with thumb or index fingers. For example, performance deterioration from the best finger (i.e. index or thumb) to the worst fingers (i.e. small ones) can be in the range of 184%-1352%.

Gait and footwear in children and adolescents with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: A cross-sectional, case-controlled study.

PubMed

Kennedy, Rachel A; McGinley, Jennifer L; Paterson, Kade L; Ryan, Monique M; Carroll, Kate

2018-05-01

Children with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) report problems with gait and footwear. We evaluated differences in spatio-temporal gait variables and gait variability between children with CMT and typically developing (TD) children, and investigated the effect of footwear upon gait. A cross-sectional study of 30 children with CMT and 30 age- and gender-matched TD children aged 4-18 years. Gait was assessed at self-selected speed on an electronic walkway while barefoot and in two types of the child's own footwear; optimal (e.g., athletic-type runners) and suboptimal (e.g., flip-flops). Children with CMT walked more slowly (mean (SD) -13.81 (3.61) cm/s), with shorter steps (-6.28 (1.37) cm), wider base of support (+2.47 (0.66) cm; all p < 0.001) and greater base of support variability (0.48 (0.15) cm, p = 0.002) compared to TD children. Gait was faster in optimal footwear than suboptimal (-7.55 (1.31) cm/s) and barefoot (-7.42 (1.07) cm/sec; both p < 0.001) in the combined group of children. Gait in suboptimal footwear was more variable compared to barefoot and optimal footwear. Greater base of support variability and reduced balance was moderately correlated for both groups (CMT and TD). Gait is slower with shorter, wider steps and greater base of support variability in children with CMT. Poor balance is associated with greater base of support gait variability. Suboptimal footwear negatively affects gait in all children (CMT and TD), which has clinical implications for children and adolescents with CMT who have weaker feet and ankles, and poor balance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preservation of myocardium during coronary artery bypass surgery.

PubMed

Kinoshita, Takeshi; Asai, Tohru

2012-08-01

Myocardial protection aims to prevent reversible post-ischemic cardiac dysfunction (myocardial stunning) and irreversible myocardial cell death (myocardial infarction) that occur as a consequence of myocardial ischemia and/or ischemic-reperfusion injury. Although the mortality rate for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting has been markedly reduced during the past decade, myocardial death, as evidenced by elevation in creatine kinase-myocardial band and/or cardiac troponin, is common. This is ascribed to suboptimal myocardial protection during cardiopulmonary bypass or with off-pump technique, early graft failure, distal embolization, and regional or global myocardial ischemia during surgery. An unmet need in contemporary coronary bypass surgery is to find more effective cardioprotective strategies that have the potential for decreasing the morbidity and mortality associated with suboptimal cardioprotection. In the present review article on myocardial protection in contemporary coronary artery bypass surgery, we attempt to elucidate the clinical problems, summarize the outcomes of selected phase III trials, and introduce new perspectives.

Will nanotechnology influence targeted cancer therapy?

PubMed Central

Grimm, Jan; Scheinberg, David A.

2011-01-01

The rapid development of techniques that enable synthesis (and manipulation) of matter on the nanometer scale, as well as the development of new nano-materials, will play a large role in disease diagnosis and treatment, specifically in targeted cancer therapy. Targeted nanocarriers are an intriguing means to selectively deliver high concentrations of cytotoxic agents or imaging labels directly to the cancer site. Often solubility issues and an unfavorable biodistribution can result in a suboptimal response of novel agents even though they are very potent. New nanoparticulate formulations allow simultaneous imaging and therapy (“theranostics”), which can provide a realistic means for the clinical implementation of such otherwise suboptimal formulations. In this review we will not attempt to provide a complete overview of the rapidly enlarging field of nanotechnology in cancer; rather, we will present properties specific to nanoparticles, and examples of their uses, which demonstrate their importance for targeted cancer therapy. PMID:21356476

Determination of biometric measures to evaluate patient suitability for transoral robotic surgery.

PubMed

Arora, Asit; Kotecha, Jalpa; Acharya, Amish; Garas, George; Darzi, Ara; Davies, D Ceri; Tolley, Neil

2015-09-01

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) represents a novel treatment for oropharyngeal cancer and obstructive sleep apnea. Appropriate patient selection is crucial. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether anatomic biometric measures are useful to determine the feasibility of performing TORS. Three surgeons independently evaluated feasibility in 51 soft-fix cadavers. Transoral visualization was performed with 2 retractors commonly used in TORS. Seven anthropometric parameters and the degree of mouth opening were recorded. Mandibular body height, hyoid-mental length, and neck circumference demonstrated significant differences between "suboptimal" and "adequate" visualization of base of tongue and epiglottis (p < .05). Limited mouth opening was associated with suboptimal visualization. Neck circumference had the strongest influence on predicting TORS feasibility. Mandibular body height, hyoid-mental length, and neck circumference in conjunction with the degree of mouth opening may determine patient suitability for TORS. Clinical evaluation is essential to validate their collective usefulness. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pattern selection and tip perturbations in the Saffman-Taylor problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, D. C.; Langer, J. S.

1987-01-01

An analytic approach to the Saffman-Taylor problem of predicting the width of a viscous finger in a Hele-Shaw cell is presented. The first purpose is to provide a systematic description of the way in which the singular perturbation introduced by capillary forces leads to a solvability mechanism for pattern selection. It is then shown how recent experimental observations by Couder et al. (1986) may be interpreted in terms suggested by this mechanism.

Training voluntary motor suppression with real-time feedback of motor evoked potentials.

PubMed

Majid, D S Adnan; Lewis, Christina; Aron, Adam R

2015-05-01

Training people to suppress motor representations voluntarily could improve response control. We evaluated a novel training procedure of real-time feedback of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) generated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over motor cortex. On each trial, a cue instructed participants to use a mental strategy to suppress a particular finger representation without overt movement. A single pulse of TMS was delivered over motor cortex, and an MEP-derived measure of hand motor excitability was delivered visually to the participant within 500 ms. In experiment 1, we showed that participants learned to reduce the excitability of a particular finger beneath baseline (selective motor suppression) within 30 min of practice. In experiment 2, we performed a double-blind study with 2 training groups (1 with veridical feedback and 1 with matched sham feedback) to show that selective motor suppression depends on the veridical feedback itself. Experiment 3 further demonstrated the importance of veridical feedback by showing that selective motor suppression did not arise from mere mental imagery, even when incentivized with reward. Thus participants can use real-time feedback of TMS-induced MEPs to discover an effective mental strategy for selective motor suppression. This high-temporal-resolution, trial-by-trial-feedback training method could be used to help people better control response tendencies and may serve as a potential therapy for motor disorders such as Tourette's and dystonia. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Intensity Variation Normalization for Finger Vein Recognition Using Guided Filter Based Singe Scale Retinex

PubMed Central

Xie, Shan Juan; Lu, Yu; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

2015-01-01

Finger vein recognition has been considered one of the most promising biometrics for personal authentication. However, the capacities and percentages of finger tissues (e.g., bone, muscle, ligament, water, fat, etc.) vary person by person. This usually causes poor quality of finger vein images, therefore degrading the performance of finger vein recognition systems (FVRSs). In this paper, the intrinsic factors of finger tissue causing poor quality of finger vein images are analyzed, and an intensity variation (IV) normalization method using guided filter based single scale retinex (GFSSR) is proposed for finger vein image enhancement. The experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing the image quality and finger vein recognition accuracy. PMID:26184226

Intensity Variation Normalization for Finger Vein Recognition Using Guided Filter Based Singe Scale Retinex.

PubMed

Xie, Shan Juan; Lu, Yu; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

2015-07-14

Finger vein recognition has been considered one of the most promising biometrics for personal authentication. However, the capacities and percentages of finger tissues (e.g., bone, muscle, ligament, water, fat, etc.) vary person by person. This usually causes poor quality of finger vein images, therefore degrading the performance of finger vein recognition systems (FVRSs). In this paper, the intrinsic factors of finger tissue causing poor quality of finger vein images are analyzed, and an intensity variation (IV) normalization method using guided filter based single scale retinex (GFSSR) is proposed for finger vein image enhancement. The experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing the image quality and finger vein recognition accuracy.

Zinc finger proteins in cancer progression.

PubMed

Jen, Jayu; Wang, Yi-Ching

2016-07-13

Zinc finger proteins are the largest transcription factor family in human genome. The diverse combinations and functions of zinc finger motifs make zinc finger proteins versatile in biological processes, including development, differentiation, metabolism and autophagy. Over the last few decades, increasing evidence reveals the potential roles of zinc finger proteins in cancer progression. However, the underlying mechanisms of zinc finger proteins in cancer progression vary in different cancer types and even in the same cancer type under different types of stress. Here, we discuss general mechanisms of zinc finger proteins in transcription regulation and summarize recent studies on zinc finger proteins in cancer progression. In this review, we also emphasize the importance of further investigations in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of zinc finger proteins in cancer progression.

EMG finger movement classification based on ANFIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caesarendra, W.; Tjahjowidodo, T.; Nico, Y.; Wahyudati, S.; Nurhasanah, L.

2018-04-01

An increase number of people suffering from stroke has impact to the rapid development of finger hand exoskeleton to enable an automatic physical therapy. Prior to the development of finger exoskeleton, a research topic yet important i.e. machine learning of finger gestures classification is conducted. This paper presents a study on EMG signal classification of 5 finger gestures as a preliminary study toward the finger exoskeleton design and development in Indonesia. The EMG signals of 5 finger gestures were acquired using Myo EMG sensor. The EMG signal features were extracted and reduced using PCA. The ANFIS based learning is used to classify reduced features of 5 finger gestures. The result shows that the classification of finger gestures is less than the classification of 7 hand gestures.

Real time relationship between individual finger force and grip exertion on distal phalanges in linear force following tasks.

PubMed

Luo, Shi-Jian; Shu, Ge; Gong, Yan

2018-05-01

Individual finger force (FF) in a grip task is a vital concern in rehabilitation engineering and precise control of manipulators because disorders in any of the fingers will affect the stability or accuracy of the grip force (GF). To understand the functions of each finger in a dynamic grip exertion task, a GF following experiment with four individual fingers without thumb was designed. This study obtained four individual FFs from the distal phalanges with a cylindrical handle in dynamic GF following tasks. Ten healthy male subjects with similar hand sizes participated in the four-finger linear GF following tasks at different submaximal voluntary contraction (SMVC) levels. The total GF, individual FF, finger force contribution, and following error were subsequently calculated and analyzed. The statistics indicated the following: 1) the accuracy and stability of GF at low %MVC were significantly higher than those at high SMVC; 2) at low SMVC, the ability of the fingers to increase the GF was better than the ability to reduce it, but it was contrary at high SMVC; 3) when the target wave (TW) was changing, all four fingers strongly participated in the force exertion, but the participation of the little finger decreased significantly when TW remained stable; 4) the index finger and ring finger had a complementary relationship and played a vital role in the adjustment and control of GF. The middle finger and little finger had a minor influence on the force control and adjustment. In conclusion, each of the fingers had different functions in a GF following task. These findings can be used in the assessment of finger injury rehabilitation and for algorithms of precise control. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary Test Results of a Non-Contacting Finger Seal on a Herringbone-Grooved Rotor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Proctor, Margaret P.; Delgado, Irebert R.

2009-01-01

The baseline non-contacting finger seal is a NASA patented design. The primary difference between it and Gul Aroras design patented by AlliedSignal is that there are no lift pads on the high pressure fingers. The baseline non-contacting finger seal is comprised of a back plate, aft spacer, aft (or low pressure) finger element, forward (or high pressure) finger element, forward spacer, and front plate. The components are held together with 20 flat head screws. A typical seal would have a back plate of approximately the same thickness as the front plate and would be riveted together. The thicker back plate allows use of threaded fasteners so that different finger elements can be tested without having to replace all the individual seal components. The finger elements are essentially washers made of thin sheet stock with multiple curved slots machined around the inner diameter to form the fingers. They are clocked so that the fingers of one cover the slots of the other. The aft finger element fingers have axial extensions or "lift pads" at the seal id that are concentric to the rotor. The fingers act as cantilever beams and flex in response to rotor dynamic motion and radial growth of the rotor due to centrifugal or thermal forces.

Distinct neural control of intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the hand during single finger pressing.

PubMed

Dupan, Sigrid S G; Stegeman, Dick F; Maas, Huub

2018-06-01

Single finger force tasks lead to unintended activation of the non-instructed fingers, commonly referred to as enslaving. Both neural and mechanical factors have been associated with this absence of finger individuality. This study investigates the amplitude modulation of both intrinsic and extrinsic finger muscles during single finger isometric force tasks. Twelve participants performed single finger flexion presses at 20% of maximum voluntary contraction, while simultaneously the electromyographic activity of several intrinsic and extrinsic muscles associated with all four fingers was recorded using 8 electrode pairs in the hand and two 30-electrode grids on the lower arm. The forces exerted by each of the fingers, in both flexion and extension direction, were recorded with individual force sensors. This study shows distinct activation patterns in intrinsic and extrinsic hand muscles. Intrinsic muscles exhibited individuation, where the agonistic and antagonistic muscles associated with the instructed fingers showed the highest activation. This activation in both agonistic and antagonistic muscles appears to facilitate finger stabilisation during the isometric force task. Extrinsic muscles show an activation independent from instructed finger in both agonistic and antagonistic muscles, which appears to be associated with stabilisation of the wrist, with an additional finger-dependent modulation only present in the agonistic extrinsic muscles. These results indicate distinct muscle patterns in intrinsic and extrinsic hand muscles during single finger isometric force pressing. We conclude that the finger specific activation of intrinsic muscles is not sufficient to fully counteract enslaving caused by the broad activation of the extrinsic muscles. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Robotic hand and fingers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salisbury, Curt Michael; Dullea, Kevin J.

Technologies pertaining to a robotic hand are described herein. The robotic hand includes one or more fingers releasably attached to a robotic hand frame. The fingers can abduct and adduct as well as flex and tense. The fingers are releasably attached to the frame by magnets that allow for the fingers to detach from the frame when excess force is applied to the fingers.

New Finger Biometric Method Using Near Infrared Imaging

PubMed Central

Lee, Eui Chul; Jung, Hyunwoo; Kim, Daeyeoul

2011-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new finger biometric method. Infrared finger images are first captured, and then feature extraction is performed using a modified Gaussian high-pass filter through binarization, local binary pattern (LBP), and local derivative pattern (LDP) methods. Infrared finger images include the multimodal features of finger veins and finger geometries. Instead of extracting each feature using different methods, the modified Gaussian high-pass filter is fully convolved. Therefore, the extracted binary patterns of finger images include the multimodal features of veins and finger geometries. Experimental results show that the proposed method has an error rate of 0.13%. PMID:22163741

Shape Memory Alloy-Based Soft Gripper with Variable Stiffness for Compliant and Effective Grasping.

PubMed

Wang, Wei; Ahn, Sung-Hoon

2017-12-01

Soft pneumatic actuators and motor-based mechanisms being concomitant with the cumbersome appendages have many challenges to making the independent robotic system with compact and lightweight configuration. Meanwhile, shape memory actuators have shown a promising alternative solution in many engineering applications ranging from artificial muscle to aerospace industry. However, one of the main limitations of such systems is their inherent softness resulting in a small actuation force, which prevents them from more effective applications. This issue can be solved by combining shape memory actuators and the mechanism of stiffness modulation. As a first, this study describes a shape memory alloy-based soft gripper composed of three identical fingers with variable stiffness for adaptive grasping in low stiffness state and effective holding in high stiffness state. Each finger with two hinges is fabricated through integrating soft composite actuator with stiffness changeable material where each hinge can approximately achieve a 55-fold changeable stiffness independently. Besides, each finger with two hinges can actively achieve multiple postures by both selectively changing the stiffness of hinges and actuating the relevant SMA wire. Based on these principles, the gripper is applicable for grasping objects with deformable shapes and varying shapes with a large range of weight where its maximum grasping force is increased to ∼10 times through integrating with the stiffness changeable mechanism. The final demonstration shows that the finger with desired shape-retained configurations enables the gripper to successfully pick up a frustum-shaped object.

Sliding Window-Based Region of Interest Extraction for Finger Vein Images

PubMed Central

Yang, Lu; Yang, Gongping; Yin, Yilong; Xiao, Rongyang

2013-01-01

Region of Interest (ROI) extraction is a crucial step in an automatic finger vein recognition system. The aim of ROI extraction is to decide which part of the image is suitable for finger vein feature extraction. This paper proposes a finger vein ROI extraction method which is robust to finger displacement and rotation. First, we determine the middle line of the finger, which will be used to correct the image skew. Then, a sliding window is used to detect the phalangeal joints and further to ascertain the height of ROI. Last, for the corrective image with certain height, we will obtain the ROI by using the internal tangents of finger edges as the left and right boundary. The experimental results show that the proposed method can extract ROI more accurately and effectively compared with other methods, and thus improve the performance of finger vein identification system. Besides, to acquire the high quality finger vein image during the capture process, we propose eight criteria for finger vein capture from different aspects and these criteria should be helpful to some extent for finger vein capture. PMID:23507824

Ancient Diversification of Three-Finger Toxins in Micrurus Coral Snakes.

PubMed

Dashevsky, Daniel; Fry, Bryan G

2018-01-01

Coral snakes, most notably the genus Micrurus, are the only terrestrial elapid snakes in the Americas. Elapid venoms are generally known for their potent neurotoxicity which is usually caused by Three-Finger Toxin (3FTx) proteins. These toxins can have a wide array of functions that have been characterized from the venom of other elapids. We examined publicly available sequences from Micrurus 3FTx to show that they belong to 8 monophyletic clades that diverged as deep in the 3FTx phylogenetic tree as the other clades with characterized functions. Functional residues from previously characterized clades of 3FTx are not well conserved in most of the Micrurus toxin clades. We also analyzed the patterns of selection on these toxins and find that they have been diversifying at different rates, with some having undergone extreme diversifying selection. This suggests that Micrurus 3FTx may contain a previously underappreciated functional diversity that has implications for the clinical outcomes of bite victims, the evolution and ecology of the genus, as well as the potential for biodiscovery efforts focusing on these toxins.

Development of a press and drag method for hyperlink selection on smartphones.

PubMed

Chang, Joonho; Jung, Kihyo

2017-11-01

The present study developed a novel touch method for hyperlink selection on smartphones consisting of two sequential finger interactions: press and drag motions. The novel method requires a user to press a target hyperlink, and if a touch error occurs he/she can immediately correct the touch error by dragging the finger without releasing it in the middle. The method was compared with two existing methods in terms of completion time, error rate, and subjective rating. Forty college students participated in the experiments with different hyperlink sizes (4-pt, 6-pt, 8-pt, and 10-pt) on a touch-screen device. When hyperlink size was small (4-pt and 6-pt), the novel method (time: 826 msec; error: 0.6%) demonstrated better completion time and error rate than the current method (time: 1194 msec; error: 22%). In addition, the novel method (1.15, slightly satisfied, in 7-pt bipolar scale) had significantly higher satisfaction scores than the two existing methods (0.06, neutral). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Logical recoding of S-R rules can reverse the effects of spatial S-R correspondence.

PubMed

Wühr, Peter; Biebl, Rupert

2009-02-01

Two experiments investigated competing explanations for the reversal of spatial stimulus-response (S-R) correspondence effects (i.e., Simon effects) with an incompatible S-R mapping on the relevant, nonspatial dimension. Competing explanations were based on generalized S-R rules (logical-recoding account) or referred to display-control arrangement correspondence or to S-S congruity. In Experiment 1, compatible responses to finger-name stimuli presented at left/right locations produced normal Simon effects, whereas incompatible responses to finger-name stimuli produced an inverted Simon effect. This finding supports the logical-recoding account. In Experiment 2, spatial S-R correspondence and color S-R correspondence were varied independently, and main effects of these variables were observed. The lack of an interaction between these variables, however, disconfirms a prediction of the display-control arrangement correspondence account. Together, the results provide converging evidence for the logical-recoding account. This account claims that participants derive generalized response selection rules (e.g., the identity or reversal rule) from specific S-R rules and inadvertently apply the generalized rules to the irrelevant (spatial) S-R dimension when selecting their response.

Robot-Assisted Guitar Hero for Finger Rehabilitation after Stroke

PubMed Central

Taheri, Hossein; Rowe, Justin B.; Gardner, David; Chan, Vicky; Reinkensmeyer, David J.; Wolbrecht, Eric T.

2014-01-01

This paper describes the design and testing of a robotic device for finger therapy after stroke: FINGER (Finger Individuating Grasp Exercise Robot). FINGER makes use of stacked single degree-of-freedom mechanisms to assist subjects in moving individual fingers in a naturalistic grasping pattern through much of their full range of motion. The device has a high bandwidth of control (−3dB at approximately 8 Hz) and is backdriveable. These characteristics make it capable of assisting in grasping tasks that require precise timing. We therefore used FINGER to assist individuals with a stroke (n = 8) and without impairment (n = 4) in playing a game similar to Guitar Hero©. The subjects attempted to move their fingers to target positions at times specified by notes that were graphically streamed to popular music. We show here that by automatically adjusting the robot gains, it is possible to use FINGER to modulate the subject’s success rate at the game, across a range of impairment levels. Modulating success rates did not alter the stroke subject’s effort, although the unimpaired subjects exerted more force when they were made less successful. We also present a novel measure of finger individuation that can be assessed as individuals play Guitar Hero with FINGER. The results demonstrate the ability of FINGER to provide controlled levels of assistance during an engaging computer game, and to quantify finger individuation after stroke. PMID:23366783

Phylogenetic inertia and Darwin's higher law.

PubMed

Shanahan, Timothy

2011-03-01

The concept of 'phylogenetic inertia' is routinely deployed in evolutionary biology as an alternative to natural selection for explaining the persistence of characteristics that appear sub-optimal from an adaptationist perspective. However, in many of these contexts the precise meaning of 'phylogenetic inertia' and its relationship to selection are far from clear. After tracing the history of the concept of 'inertia' in evolutionary biology, I argue that treating phylogenetic inertia and natural selection as alternative explanations is mistaken because phylogenetic inertia is, from a Darwinian point of view, simply an expected effect of selection. Although Darwin did not discuss 'phylogenetic inertia,' he did assert the explanatory priority of selection over descent. An analysis of 'phylogenetic inertia' provides a perspective from which to assess Darwin's view. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection for a Zinc-Finger Protein Contributes to Seed Oil Increase during Soybean Domestication1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Li, Qing-Tian; Lu, Xiang; Song, Qing-Xin; Chen, Hao-Wei; Wei, Wei; Tao, Jian-Jun; Ma, Biao; Bi, Ying-Dong; Li, Wei; Lai, Yong-Cai; Shui, Guang-Hou; Chen, Shou-Yi

2017-01-01

Seed oil is a momentous agronomical trait of soybean (Glycine max) targeted by domestication in breeding. Although multiple oil-related genes have been uncovered, knowledge of the regulatory mechanism of seed oil biosynthesis is currently limited. We demonstrate that the seed-preferred gene GmZF351, encoding a tandem CCCH zinc finger protein, is selected during domestication. Further analysis shows that GmZF351 facilitates oil accumulation by directly activating WRINKLED1, BIOTIN CARBOXYL CARRIER PROTEIN2, 3-KETOACYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN SYNTHASE III, DIACYLGLYCEROL O-ACYLTRANSFERASE1, and OLEOSIN2 in transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds. Overexpression of GmZF351 in transgenic soybean also activates lipid biosynthesis genes, thereby accelerating seed oil accumulation. The ZF351 haplotype from the cultivated soybean group and the wild soybean (Glycine soja) subgroup III correlates well with high gene expression level, seed oil contents and promoter activity, suggesting that selection of GmZF351 expression leads to increased seed oil content in cultivated soybean. Our study provides novel insights into the regulatory mechanism for seed oil accumulation, and the manipulation of GmZF351 may have great potential in the improvement of oil production in soybean and other related crops. PMID:28184009

Selection for a Zinc-Finger Protein Contributes to Seed Oil Increase during Soybean Domestication.

PubMed

Li, Qing-Tian; Lu, Xiang; Song, Qing-Xin; Chen, Hao-Wei; Wei, Wei; Tao, Jian-Jun; Bian, Xiao-Hua; Shen, Ming; Ma, Biao; Zhang, Wan-Ke; Bi, Ying-Dong; Li, Wei; Lai, Yong-Cai; Lam, Sin-Man; Shui, Guang-Hou; Chen, Shou-Yi; Zhang, Jin-Song

2017-04-01

Seed oil is a momentous agronomical trait of soybean ( Glycine max ) targeted by domestication in breeding. Although multiple oil-related genes have been uncovered, knowledge of the regulatory mechanism of seed oil biosynthesis is currently limited. We demonstrate that the seed-preferred gene GmZF351 , encoding a tandem CCCH zinc finger protein, is selected during domestication. Further analysis shows that GmZF351 facilitates oil accumulation by directly activating WRINKLED1 , BIOTIN CARBOXYL CARRIER PROTEIN2 , 3-KETOACYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN SYNTHASE III , DIACYLGLYCEROL O-ACYLTRANSFERASE1 , and OLEOSIN2 in transgenic Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) seeds. Overexpression of GmZF351 in transgenic soybean also activates lipid biosynthesis genes, thereby accelerating seed oil accumulation. The ZF351 haplotype from the cultivated soybean group and the wild soybean ( Glycine soja ) subgroup III correlates well with high gene expression level, seed oil contents and promoter activity, suggesting that selection of GmZF351 expression leads to increased seed oil content in cultivated soybean. Our study provides novel insights into the regulatory mechanism for seed oil accumulation, and the manipulation of GmZF351 may have great potential in the improvement of oil production in soybean and other related crops. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Senseless, a Zn finger transcription factor, is necessary and sufficient for sensory organ development in Drosophila

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nolo, R.; Abbott, L. A.; Bellen, H. J.

2000-01-01

The senseless (sens) gene is required for proper development of most cell types of the embryonic and adult peripheral nervous system (PNS) of Drosophila. Sens is a nuclear protein with four Zn fingers that is expressed and required in the sensory organ precursors (SOP) for proper proneural gene expression. Ectopic expression of Sens in many ectodermal cells causes induction of PNS external sensory organ formation and is able to recreate an ectopic proneural field. Hence, sens is both necessary and sufficient for PNS development. Our data indicate that proneural genes activate sens expression. Sens is then in turn required to further activate and maintain proneural gene expression. This feedback mechanism is essential for selective enhancement and maintenance of proneural gene expression in the SOPs.

Passive tire pressure sensor and method

DOEpatents

Pfeifer, Kent Bryant; Williams, Robert Leslie; Waldschmidt, Robert Lee; Morgan, Catherine Hook

2006-08-29

A surface acoustic wave device includes a micro-machined pressure transducer for monitoring tire pressure. The device is configured having a micro-machined cavity that is sealed with a flexible conductive membrane. When an external tire pressure equivalent to the cavity pressure is detected, the membrane makes contact with ridges on the backside of the surface acoustic wave device. The ridges are electrically connected to conductive fingers of the device. When the detected pressure is correct, selected fingers on the device will be grounded producing patterned acoustic reflections to an impulse RF signal. When the external tire pressure is less than the cavity reference pressure, a reduced reflected signal to the receiver results. The sensor may further be constructed so as to identify itself by a unique reflected identification pulse series.

Passive tire pressure sensor and method

DOEpatents

Pfeifer, Kent Bryant; Williams, Robert Leslie; Waldschmidt, Robert Lee; Morgan, Catherine Hook

2007-09-04

A surface acoustic wave device includes a micro-machined pressure transducer for monitoring tire pressure. The device is configured having a micro-machined cavity that is sealed with a flexible conductive membrane. When an external tire pressure equivalent to the cavity pressure is detected, the membrane makes contact with ridges on the backside of the surface acoustic wave device. The ridges are electrically connected to conductive fingers of the device. When the detected pressure is correct, selected fingers on the device will be grounded producing patterned acoustic reflections to an impulse RF signal. When the external tire pressure is less than the cavity reference pressure, a reduced reflected signal to the receiver results. The sensor may further be constructed so as to identify itself by a unique reflected identification pulse series.

Resolving the paradox of suboptimal choice.

PubMed

Zentall, Thomas R

2016-01-01

When humans engage in commercial (totally probabilistic) gambling they are making suboptimal choices because the return is generally less than the investment. This review (a) examines the literature on pigeon suboptimal choice, (b) describes the conditions under which it occurs, (c) identifies the mechanisms that appear to be responsible for the effect, and (d) suggests that similar processes may be able to account for analogous suboptimal choice when humans engage in commercial gambling. Pigeons show suboptimal choice when they choose between 1 alternative that 20% of the time provides them with a signal that they will always get fed or 80% of the time with a signal that they will not get fed (overall 20% reinforcement) and a second alternative that 100% of the time provides them with a signal that they will get fed 50% of the time (overall 50% reinforcement). The pigeons' strong preference for the suboptimal choice was investigated in a series of experiments that found the preference for the suboptimal alternative was determined by the value of the signal that predicted reinforcement, rather its frequency and that the frequency of the signal that predicted nonreinforcement had little effect on the suboptimal choice. Paradoxically, this account makes the prediction that pigeons will be indifferent between an alternative that 50% of the time provides a fully predictive stimulus for reinforcement and an alternative that 100% of the time provides a fully predictive stimulus for reinforcement. The similarities and differences of this suboptimal choice task to human gambling are discussed. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Radiation safety education reduces the incidence of adult fingers on neonatal chest radiographs.

PubMed

Sahota, N; Burbridge, B E; Duncan, M D

2014-06-01

A previous audit revealed a high frequency of adult fingers visualised on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) chest radiographs-representing an example of inappropriate occupational radiation exposure. Radiation safety education was provided to staff and we hypothesised that the education would reduce the frequency of adult fingers visualised on NICU chest radiographs. Two cross-sectional samples taken before and after the administration of the education were compared. We examined fingers visualised directly in the beam, fingers in the direct beam but eliminated by technologists editing the image, and fingers under the cones of the portable x-ray machine. There was a 46.2% reduction in fingers directly in the beam, 50.0% reduction in fingers directly in the beam but cropped out, and 68.4% reduction in fingers in the coned area. There was a 57.1% overall reduction in adult fingers visualised, which was statistically significant (Z value - 7.48, P < 0.0001). This study supports radiation safety education in minimising inappropriate occupational radiation exposure.

Tendon Driven Finger Actuation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Reich, David M. (Inventor); Bridgwater, Lyndon (Inventor); Linn, Douglas Martin (Inventor); Askew, Scott R. (Inventor); Diftler, Myron A. (Inventor); Platt, Robert (Inventor); Hargrave, Brian (Inventor); Valvo, Michael C. (Inventor); Abdallah, Muhammad E. (Inventor);

Optimization for Guitar Fingering on Single Notes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Masaru; Hayashida, Takumi

This paper presents an optimization method for guitar fingering. The fingering is to determine a unique combination of string, fret and finger corresponding to the note. The method aims to generate the best fingering pattern for guitar robots rather than beginners. Furthermore, it can be applied to any musical score on single notes. A fingering action can be decomposed into three motions, that is, a motion of press string, release string and move fretting hand. The cost for moving the hand is estimated on the basis of Manhattan distance which is the sum of distances along fret and string directions. The objective is to minimize the total fingering costs, subject to fret, string and finger constraints. As a sequence of notes on the score forms a line on time series, the optimization for guitar fingering can be resolved into a multistage decision problem. Dynamic programming is exceedingly effective to solve such a problem. A level concept is introduced into rendering states so as to make multiple DP solutions lead a unique one among the DP backward processes. For example, if two fingerings have the same value of cost at different states on a stage, then the low position would be taken precedence over the high position, and the index finger would be over the middle finger.

Mobile Phone Usage and its Health Effects Among Adults in a Semi-Urban Area of Southern India

PubMed Central

Abraham, Sherin Billy; Kanimozhy, K.; Prasad, R. Vishnu; Singh, Zile; Purty, Anil J.

2016-01-01

Introduction Worldwide, mobile phone usage has been increased dramatically which could affect the health of the people. India has the second largest number of mobile phone users. However there are only few studies conducted in India to assess its effects on health. Aim To determine the prevalence and pattern of mobile phone usage and to assess the relationship between certain selected health problems and mobile phone usage among adults. Settings and Design Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Kottakuppam, a town panchayat in Villupuram district of Coastal Tamil Nadu, Southern India. It is a semi-urban area with a population of about 16,000. Majority of the residents are Muslim by religion and belong to different socio economic status. Materials and Methods The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. A total of 2121 study participants were interviewed by the pre-final medical students through house-to-house survey using a pretested structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included the variables such as socio demographic profile, mobile phone usage and pattern, selected health problems, perceived benefits and threats and blood pressure. Selected health problems included headache, earache, neck pain, tinnitus, painful fingers, restlessness, morning tiredness, tingling fingers, fatigue, eye symptoms, sleep disturbance and hypertension. Statistical Analysis Used Only 2054 were included for data analysis using SPSS 17 version. Proportions were calculated. Chi-square test was used to measure the p-value. The p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results The prevalence of mobile phone usage was 70%. Calling facility (94.2%) was used more than the SMS (67.6%). Health problems like headache, earache, tinnitus, painful fingers and restlessness etc., were found to be positively associated with mobile phone usage. There was negative association between hypertension and mobile phone usage. Conclusion The prevalence of mobile phone usage was high. There was significant association between selected health problems and mobile phone usage. In future, higher studies are required to confirm our findings. PMID:26894095

Monte Carlo Assessments of Absorbed Doses to the Hands of Radiopharmaceutical Workers Due to Photon Emitters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ilas, Dan; Eckerman, Keith F; Karagiannis, Harriet

This paper describes the characterization of radiation doses to the hands of nuclear medicine technicians resulting from the handling of radiopharmaceuticals. Radiation monitoring using ring dosimeters indicates that finger dosimeters that are used to show compliance with applicable regulations may overestimate or underestimate radiation doses to the skin depending on the nature of the particular procedure and the radionuclide being handled. To better understand the parameters governing the absorbed dose distributions, a detailed model of the hands was created and used in Monte Carlo simulations of selected nuclear medicine procedures. Simulations of realistic configurations typical for workers handling radiopharmaceuticals weremore » performedfor a range of energies of the source photons. The lack of charged-particle equilibrium necessitated full photon-electron coupled transport calculations. The results show that the dose to different regions of the fingers can differ substantially from dosimeter readings when dosimeters are located at the base of the finger. We tried to identify consistent patterns that relate the actual dose to the dosimeter readings. These patterns depend on the specific work conditions and can be used to better assess the absorbed dose to different regions of the exposed skin.« less

Dose Assessments to the Hands of Radiopharmaceutical Workers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ilas, Dan; Eckerman, Keith F; Sherbini, Sami

This paper describes the characterization of radiation doses to the hands of nuclear medicine technicians resulting from the handling of radiopharmaceuticals. Radiation monitoring using ring dosimeters indicates that finger dosimeters may overestimate or underestimate the radiation doses to the skin that are used to show compliance with applicable regulations depending on the nature of the particular procedure and the radioisotope being handled. To better understand the parameters governing the absorbed dose distributions, a detailed model of the hands was created and used in Monte Carlo simulations of selected nuclear medicine procedures. Simulations on realistic configurations typical for workers handling radiopharmaceuticalsmore » were performed for a range of energies of the source photons. The lack of charged-particle equilibrium necessitated full photon-electron coupled transport calculations. The results show that the dose to different regions of the fingers can differ substantially from the dosimeters' readings when the dosimeters are located at the base of the finger. We tried to identify consistent patterns that relate the actual dose to the dosimeter readings. These patterns depend on the specific work conditions and can be used to better assess the absorbed dose to different regions of the exposed skin.« less

Direct detector for terahertz radiation

DOEpatents

Wanke, Michael C [Albuquerque, NM; Lee, Mark [Albuquerque, NM; Shaner, Eric A [Albuquerque, NM; Allen, S James [Santa Barbara, CA

2008-09-02

A direct detector for terahertz radiation comprises a grating-gated field-effect transistor with one or more quantum wells that provide a two-dimensional electron gas in the channel region. The grating gate can be a split-grating gate having at least one finger that can be individually biased. Biasing an individual finger of the split-grating gate to near pinch-off greatly increases the detector's resonant response magnitude over prior QW FET detectors while maintaining frequency selectivity. The split-grating-gated QW FET shows a tunable resonant plasmon response to FIR radiation that makes possible an electrically sweepable spectrometer-on-a-chip with no moving mechanical optical parts. Further, the narrow spectral response and signal-to-noise are adequate for use of the split-grating-gated QW FET in a passive, multispectral terahertz imaging system. The detector can be operated in a photoconductive or a photovoltaic mode. Other embodiments include uniform front and back gates to independently vary the carrier densities in the channel region, a thinned substrate to increase bolometric responsivity, and a resistive shunt to connect the fingers of the grating gate in parallel and provide a uniform gate-channel voltage along the length of the channel to increase the responsivity and improve the spectral resolution.

Mesofluidic controlled robotic or prosthetic finger

DOEpatents

Lind, Randall F; Jansen, John F; Love, Lonnie J

2013-11-19

A mesofluidic powered robotic and/or prosthetic finger joint includes a first finger section having at least one mesofluidic actuator in fluid communication with a first actuator, a second mesofluidic actuator in fluid communication with a second actuator and a second prosthetic finger section pivotally connected to the first finger section by a joint pivot, wherein the first actuator pivotally cooperates with the second finger to provide a first mechanical advantage relative to the joint point and wherein the second actuator pivotally cooperates with the second finger section to provide a second mechanical advantage relative to the joint point.

Cradle and pressure grippers

DOEpatents

Muniak, John E.

2001-01-01

A gripper that is designed to incorporate the functions of gripping, supporting and pressure tongs into one device. The gripper has two opposing finger sections with interlocking fingers that incline and taper to form a wedge. The interlocking fingers are vertically off-set so that the opposing finger sections may close together allowing the inclined, tapered tips of the fingers to extend beyond the plane defined by the opposing finger section's engagement surface. The range of motion defined by the interlocking relationship of the finger sections allows the gripper to grab, lift and support objects of varying size and shape. The gripper has one stationary and one moveable finger section. Power is provided to the moveable finger section by an actuating device enabling the gripper to close around an object to be lifted. A lifting bail is attached to the gripper and is supported by a crane that provides vertical lift.

Multimodal biometric method that combines veins, prints, and shape of a finger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Byung Jun; Park, Kang Ryoung; Yoo, Jang-Hee; Kim, Jeong Nyeo

2011-01-01

Multimodal biometrics provides high recognition accuracy and population coverage by using various biometric features. A single finger contains finger veins, fingerprints, and finger geometry features; by using multimodal biometrics, information on these multiple features can be simultaneously obtained in a short time and their fusion can outperform the use of a single feature. This paper proposes a new finger recognition method based on the score-level fusion of finger veins, fingerprints, and finger geometry features. This research is novel in the following four ways. First, the performances of the finger-vein and fingerprint recognition are improved by using a method based on a local derivative pattern. Second, the accuracy of the finger geometry recognition is greatly increased by combining a Fourier descriptor with principal component analysis. Third, a fuzzy score normalization method is introduced; its performance is better than the conventional Z-score normalization method. Fourth, finger-vein, fingerprint, and finger geometry recognitions are combined by using three support vector machines and a weighted SUM rule. Experimental results showed that the equal error rate of the proposed method was 0.254%, which was lower than those of the other methods.

Effects of Finger Counting on Numerical Development – The Opposing Views of Neurocognition and Mathematics Education

PubMed Central

Moeller, Korbinian; Martignon, Laura; Wessolowski, Silvia; Engel, Joachim; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph

2011-01-01

Children typically learn basic numerical and arithmetic principles using finger-based representations. However, whether or not reliance on finger-based representations is beneficial or detrimental is the subject of an ongoing debate between researchers in neurocognition and mathematics education. From the neurocognitive perspective, finger counting provides multisensory input, which conveys both cardinal and ordinal aspects of numbers. Recent data indicate that children with good finger-based numerical representations show better arithmetic skills and that training finger gnosis, or “finger sense,” enhances mathematical skills. Therefore neurocognitive researchers conclude that elaborate finger-based numerical representations are beneficial for later numerical development. However, research in mathematics education recommends fostering mentally based numerical representations so as to induce children to abandon finger counting. More precisely, mathematics education recommends first using finger counting, then concrete structured representations and, finally, mental representations of numbers to perform numerical operations. Taken together, these results reveal an important debate between neurocognitive and mathematics education research concerning the benefits and detriments of finger-based strategies for numerical development. In the present review, the rationale of both lines of evidence will be discussed. PMID:22144969

Topographic generalization of tactile perceptual learning.

PubMed

Harrar, Vanessa; Spence, Charles; Makin, Tamar R

2014-02-01

Perceptual learning can improve our sensory abilities. Understanding its underlying mechanisms, in particular, when perceptual learning generalizes, has become a focus of research and controversy. Specifically, there is little consensus regarding the extent to which tactile perceptual learning generalizes across fingers. We measured tactile orientation discrimination abilities on 4 fingers (index and middle fingers of both hands), using psychophysical measures, before and after 4 training sessions on 1 finger. Given the somatotopic organization of the hand representation in the somatosensory cortex, the topography of the cortical areas underlying tactile perceptual learning can be inferred from the pattern of generalization across fingers; only fingers sharing cortical representation with the trained finger ought to improve with it. Following training, performance improved not only for the trained finger but also for its adjacent and homologous fingers. Although these fingers were not exposed to training, they nevertheless demonstrated similar levels of learning as the trained finger. Conversely, the performance of the finger that was neither adjacent nor homologous to the trained finger was unaffected by training, despite the fact that our procedure was designed to enhance generalization, as described in recent visual perceptual learning research. This pattern of improved performance is compatible with previous reports of neuronal receptive fields (RFs) in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) spanning adjacent and homologous digits. We conclude that perceptual learning rooted in low-level cortex can still generalize, and suggest potential applications for the neurorehabilitation of syndromes associated with maladaptive plasticity in SI. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Extrinsic versus intrinsic hand muscle dominance in finger flexion.

PubMed

Al-Sukaini, A; Singh, H P; Dias, J J

2016-05-01

This study aims to identify the patterns of dominance of extrinsic or intrinsic muscles in finger flexion during initiation of finger curl and mid-finger flexion. We recorded 82 hands of healthy individuals (18-74 years) while flexing their fingers and tracked the finger joint angles of the little finger using video motion tracking. A total of 57 hands (69.5%) were classified as extrinsic dominant, where the finger flexion was initiated and maintained at proximal interphalangeal and distal interphalangeal joints. A total of 25 (30.5%) were classified as intrinsic dominant, where the finger flexion was initiated and maintained at the metacarpophalangeal joint. The distribution of age, sex, dominance, handedness and body mass index was similar in the two groups. This knowledge may allow clinicians to develop more efficient rehabilitation regimes, since intrinsic dominant individuals would not initiate extrinsic muscle contraction till later in finger flexion, and might therefore be allowed limited early active motion. For extrinsic dominant individuals, by contrast, initial contraction of extrinsic muscles would place increased stress on the tendon repair site if early motion were permitted. © The Author(s) 2016.

Evaluation of nutraceutical and antinutritional properties in barnyard and finger millet varieties grown in Himalayan region.

PubMed

Panwar, Priyankar; Dubey, Ashutosh; Verma, A K

2016-06-01

Five elite varieties of barnyard (Echinochloa frumentacea) and finger (Eleusine coracana) growing at northwestern Himalaya were investigated for nutraceutical and antinutritional properties. Barnyard millet contained higher amount of crude fiber, total dietary fiber, tryptophan content, total carotenoids, α-tocopherol compared to the finger millet whereas the finger millet contains higher amount of methionine and ascorbic acid as compared to the barnyard millet. The secondary metabolites of biological functions were analyzed and found that barnyard millet contained the higher amount of polyphenols, tannins and ortho-dihydroxy phenol content compared to finger millet. Among antinutitional compounds barnyard millet contained lower phytic acid content compare to finger millet whereas no significant difference in trypsin inhibition activity of barnyard millet and finger millet varieties were found. Barnyard millet contained higher acid phosphatase, α-galactosidase and α-amylase inhibitor activity compared to finger millet. Finger millet seeds contained about 10-13 folds higher calcium content and double amount of manganese content in comparison to barnyard millet seeds. Present study suggests that barnyard millet varieties studied under present investigation were found nutritionally superior compared to finger millet varieties.

Effects of endothelium-derived nitric oxide on skin and digital blood flow in humans.

PubMed

Coffman, J D

1994-12-01

The effects of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) on total finger and forearm, and dorsal finger and forearm skin, blood flows were studied in the basal state and during reflex sympathetic vasoconstriction in normal subjects. Total flows were measured by venous occlusion plethysmography and skin flows by laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF). L-NMMA in doses of 2, 4, and 8 microM/min given by constant infusion via a brachial artery catheter significantly decreased finger blood flow, forearm blood flow, and vascular conductances. At 8 microM/min, total finger blood flow decreased 38.4% and forearm blood flow decreased 24.8%. Dorsal finger and forearm skin LDF were also significantly decreased (25 and 37% at 8 microM/min). Body cooling significantly decreased finger blood flow (73.6%), vascular conductance, and finger LDF (59.7%). L-NMMA had no effect on total finger blood flow or dorsal finger LDF during body cooling. Nitric oxide or related compounds contribute to the basal dilator tone of the dorsal finger and forearm skin but not during reflex sympathetic vasoconstriction.

Age Effects and Heuristics in Decision Making*

PubMed Central

Besedeš, Tibor; Deck, Cary; Sarangi, Sudipta; Shor, Mikhael

2011-01-01

Using controlled experiments, we examine how individuals make choices when faced with multiple options. Choice tasks are designed to mimic the selection of health insurance, prescription drug, or retirement savings plans. In our experiment, available options can be objectively ranked allowing us to examine optimal decision making. First, the probability of a person selecting the optimal option declines as the number of options increases, with the decline being more pronounced for older subjects. Second, heuristics differ by age with older subjects relying more on suboptimal decision rules. In a heuristics validation experiment, older subjects make worse decisions than younger subjects. PMID:22544977

Age Effects and Heuristics in Decision Making.

PubMed

Besedeš, Tibor; Deck, Cary; Sarangi, Sudipta; Shor, Mikhael

2012-05-01

Using controlled experiments, we examine how individuals make choices when faced with multiple options. Choice tasks are designed to mimic the selection of health insurance, prescription drug, or retirement savings plans. In our experiment, available options can be objectively ranked allowing us to examine optimal decision making. First, the probability of a person selecting the optimal option declines as the number of options increases, with the decline being more pronounced for older subjects. Second, heuristics differ by age with older subjects relying more on suboptimal decision rules. In a heuristics validation experiment, older subjects make worse decisions than younger subjects.

Alpha-Band Brain Oscillations Shape the Processing of Perceptible as well as Imperceptible Somatosensory Stimuli during Selective Attention.

PubMed

Forschack, Norman; Nierhaus, Till; Müller, Matthias M; Villringer, Arno

2017-07-19

Attention filters and weights sensory information according to behavioral demands. Stimulus-related neural responses are increased for the attended stimulus. Does alpha-band activity mediate this effect and is it restricted to conscious sensory events (suprathreshold), or does it also extend to unconscious stimuli (subthreshold)? To address these questions, we recorded EEG in healthy male and female volunteers undergoing subthreshold and suprathreshold somatosensory electrical stimulation to the left or right index finger. The task was to detect stimulation at the randomly alternated cued index finger. Under attention, amplitudes of somatosensory evoked potentials increased 50-60 ms after stimulation (P1) for both suprathreshold and subthreshold events. Prestimulus amplitude of peri-Rolandic alpha, that is mu, showed an inverse relationship to P1 amplitude during attention compared to when the finger was unattended. Interestingly, intermediate and high amplitudes of mu rhythm were associated with the highest P1 amplitudes during attention and smallest P1 during lack of attention, that is, these levels of alpha rhythm seemed to optimally support the behavioral goal ("detect" stimuli at the cued finger while ignoring the other finger). Our results show that attention enhances neural processing for both suprathreshold and subthreshold stimuli and they highlight a rather complex interaction between attention, Rolandic alpha activity, and their effects on stimulus processing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Attention is crucial in prioritizing processing of relevant perceptible (suprathreshold) stimuli: it filters and weights sensory input. The present study investigates the controversially discussed question whether this attention effect extends to imperceptible (subthreshold) stimuli as well. We found noninvasive EEG signatures for attentional modulation of neural events following perceptible and imperceptible somatosensory stimulation in human participants. Specifically, stimulus processing for both kinds of stimulation, subthreshold and suprathreshold, is enhanced by attention. Interestingly, Rolandic alpha rhythm strength and its influence on stimulus processing are strikingly altered by attention most likely to optimally achieve the behavioral goal. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/376983-12$15.00/0.

Cross contamination of turkey carcasses by Salmonella species during defeathering.

PubMed

Nde, C W; McEvoy, J M; Sherwood, J S; Logue, C M

2007-01-01

Salmonella present on the feathers of live birds could be a source of contamination to carcass skin during defeathering. In this study, the possibility of transfer of Salmonella from the feathers of live turkeys to carcass tissue during the defeathering process at a commercial turkey processing plant was investigated. The contribution of scald water and the fingers of the picker machines to cross contamination were also examined. Over 4 visits, swab samples were collected from 174 randomly selected tagged birds before and after defeathering. Two swab samples from the fingers of the picker machines and a sample of scald water were also collected during each visit. Detection of Salmonella was carried out following standard cultural and identification methods. The DNA fingerprints obtained from pulsed field gel electrophoresis of Salmonella serotypes isolated before and after defeathering, from scald water, and from the fingers of the picker machines were compared to trace cross contamination routes. Salmonella prevalence was similar before and after defeathering during visits 2 and 3 and significantly increased after defeathering during visits 1 and 4. Over the 4 visits, all Salmonella subtypes obtained after defeathering were also isolated before defeathering. The results of this study suggest that Salmonella was transferred from the feathers to carcass skin during each visit. On each visit, the Salmonella subtypes isolated from the fingers of the picker machines were similar to subtypes isolated before and after defeathering, indicating that the fingers facilitate carcass cross contamination during defeathering. Salmonella isolated from scald water during visit 4 was related to isolates obtained before and after defeathering, suggesting that scald water is also a vehicle for cross contamination during defeathering. By using molecular subtyping, this study demonstrated the relationship between Salmonella present on the feathers of live turkeys and carcass skin after defeathering, suggesting that decontamination procedures applied to the external surfaces of live turkeys could reduce Salmonella cross contamination during defeathering.

On non-invasive 2D and 3D Chromatic White Light image sensors for age determination of latent fingerprints.

PubMed

Merkel, Ronny; Gruhn, Stefan; Dittmann, Jana; Vielhauer, Claus; Bräutigam, Anja

2012-10-10

The feasibility of 2D-intensity and 3D-topography images from a non-invasive Chromatic White Light (CWL) sensor for the age determination of latent fingerprints is investigated. The proposed method might provide the means to solve the so far unresolved issue of determining a fingerprints age in forensics. Conducting numerous experiments for an indoor crime scene using selected surfaces, different influences on the aging of fingerprints are investigated and the resulting aging variability is determined in terms of inter-person, intra-person, inter-finger and intra-finger variation. Main influence factors are shown to be the sweat composition, temperature, humidity, wind, UV-radiation, surface type, contamination of the finger with water-containing substances, resolution and measured area size, whereas contact time, contact pressure and smearing of the print seem to be of minor importance. Such influences lead to a certain experimental variability in inter-person and intra-person variation, which is higher than the inter-finger and intra-finger variation. Comparing the aging behavior of 17 different features using 1490 time series with a total of 41,520 fingerprint images, the great potential of the CWL technique in combination with the binary pixel feature from prior work is shown. Performing three different experiments for the classification of fingerprints into the two time classes [0, 5 h] and [5, 24 h], a maximum classification performance of 79.29% (kappa=0.46) is achieved for a general case, which is further improved for special cases. The statistical significance of the two best-performing features (both binary pixel versions based on 2D-intensity images) is manually shown and a feature fusion is performed, highlighting the strong dependency of the features on each other. It is concluded that such method might be combined with additional capturing devices, such as microscopes or spectroscopes, to a very promising age estimation scheme. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-fingered robotic hand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruoff, Carl F. (Inventor); Salisbury, Kenneth, Jr. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A robotic hand is presented having a plurality of fingers, each having a plurality of joints pivotally connected one to the other. Actuators are connected at one end to an actuating and control mechanism mounted remotely from the hand and at the other end to the joints of the fingers for manipulating the fingers and passing externally of the robot manipulating arm in between the hand and the actuating and control mechanism. The fingers include pulleys to route the actuators within the fingers. Cable tension sensing structure mounted on a portion of the hand are disclosed, as is covering of the tip of each finger with a resilient and pliable friction enhancing surface.

Compliant finger sensor for sensorimotor studies in MEG and MR environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Yong, X.; Cheung, T. P. L.; Menon, C.

2016-07-01

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are widely used for functional brain imaging. The correlations between the sensorimotor functions of the hand and brain activities have been investigated in MEG/fMRI studies. Currently, limited information can be drawn from these studies due to the limitations of existing motion sensors that are used to detect hand movements. One major challenge in designing these motion sensors is to limit the signal interference between the motion sensors and the MEG/fMRI. In this work, a novel finger motion sensor, which contains low-ferromagnetic and non-conductive materials, is introduced. The finger sensor consists of four air-filled chambers. When compressed by finger(s), the pressure change in the chambers can be detected by the electronics of the finger sensor. Our study has validated that the interference between the finger sensor and an MEG is negligible. Also, by applying a support vector machine algorithm to the data obtained from the finger sensor, at least 11 finger patterns can be discriminated. Comparing to the use of traditional electromyography (EMG) in detecting finger motion, our proposed finger motion sensor is not only MEG/fMRI compatible, it is also easy to use. As the signals acquired from the sensor have a higher SNR than that of the EMG, no complex algorithms are required to detect different finger movement patterns. Future studies can utilize this motion sensor to investigate brain activations during different finger motions and correlate the activations with the sensory and motor functions respectively.

Flowers, Fruits, & Fingers: Preservice Teachers Write about Difficult Topics for a Child Audience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Brian; May, Laura A.; Williams, Rhina Fernandes

2012-01-01

The authors of this article work in a university-based teacher preparation program designed to prepare teachers to serve in urban, historically underserved schools. Entrance to the program is competitive. Preservice teachers are selected, in part, for their rich life experiences and interest in working in high-needs schools. Even with this…

Wet feet and sappy fingers: lessons learned from restoration work in the West Virginia highlands

Treesearch

Amy Cimarolli; David W. Saville

2010-01-01

This presentation summarizes our practical experiences from a decade of working with state and federal agencies and private landowners to protect, conserve, and restore the spruce forests and fir swamps of West Virginia. We present case studies that demonstrate the collaborative planning processes, site selection techniques, and restoration activities used in our...

Effects of Parent Training on the Behavior Problems in the Home of Preschool Handicapped Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lantzy, Theresa J.; Gable, Robert A.

The effect of a combined teacher-parent behavior management program on inappropriate behaviors in the school and in the homes of five preschool handicapped children is evaluated. The teacher/trainer collaborated with the parents to select a target behavior (finger chewing, cup throwing, screaming, spitting, hand licking) for each child. Training…

Trigger Finger (Stenosing Tenosynovitis)

MedlinePlus

... Trigger Finger Find a hand surgeon near you. Videos Trigger Finger Animation Trigger Finger Close Popup Close ... or "in." Also, avoid using media types like "video," "article," and "picture." Tip 4: Your results can ...

Outcomes of Silicone Arthroplasty Stratified by Fingers for the Rheumatoid Metacarpophalangeal Joints

PubMed Central

Chung, Kevin C.; Kotsis, Sandra V.; Shaw Wilgis, E. F.; Fox, David A.; Regan, Marian; Kim, H. Myra; Burke, Frank D.

2015-01-01

Purpose Previous studies have demonstrated that outcomes for the ulnar digits appear to be worse than the radial digits after silicone metacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty (SMPA) for the rheumatoid hand. This study examines various components of hand deformities in an effort to understand SMPA outcomes in terms of metacarpophalangeal joint range of motion and alignment. We hypothesize that the ulnar fingers will have less improvement marked by greater ulnar drift, extension lag, and less metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) arc of motion than the radial fingers. Methods 68 surgical patients were recruited from 3 sites in this multi-center international prospective cohort study. All patients had a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, were between the ages of 18–80, and were eligible to undergo SMPA based on measured hand deformities (extensor lag and ulnar drift). Ulnar drift, extension lag, and arc of motion for the MCPJ of each finger were measured at baseline (pre-surgical) and 1-year after SMPA. Results All fingers showed an improvement in ulnar drift from baseline to 1-year after surgery. The smallest improvement was in the index finger (12°) and the largest improvement was in the little finger (30°). Similarly, the largest improvement in extension lag was seen in the little finger (47°) and the smallest improvement was seen in the index finger (21°). In terms of MCPJ arc of motion, all fingers moved to a more extended posture and gained an improved arc of motion, but the biggest improvement was observed in the 2 ulnar fingers and less so in the 2 radial fingers. Conclusions Our hypothesis that the ulnar fingers will have worse outcomes than the radial fingers is not proven by this study. Although past experiences have indicated that it is more difficult to maintain posture for the ring and little fingers after SMPA due to the deforming forces, sufficient correction of the deformities in the ulnar fingers is possible, if attention to adequate bone resection and realigning of the extensor mechanism are carefully performed during the procedure. PMID:19896008

CD44 Is a Negative Cell Surface Marker for Pluripotent Stem Cell Identification during Human Fibroblast Reprogramming

PubMed Central

Vaz, Candida; Tanavde, Vivek; Lakshmipathy, Uma

2014-01-01

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are promising tools for disease research and cell therapy. One of the critical steps in establishing iPSC lines is the early identification of fully reprogrammed colonies among unreprogrammed fibroblasts and partially reprogrammed intermediates. Currently, colony morphology and pluripotent stem cell surface markers are used to identify iPSC colonies. Through additional clonal characterization, we show that these tools fail to distinguish partially reprogrammed intermediates from fully reprogrammed iPSCs. Thus, they can lead to the selection of suboptimal clones for expansion. A subsequent global transcriptome analysis revealed that the cell adhesion protein CD44 is a marker that differentiates between partially and fully reprogrammed cells. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry confirmed that CD44 is highly expressed in the human parental fibroblasts used for the reprogramming experiments. It is gradually lost throughout the reprogramming process and is absent in fully established iPSCs. When used in conjunction with pluripotent cell markers, CD44 staining results in the clear identification of fully reprogrammed cells. This combination of positive and negative surface markers allows for easier and more accurate iPSC detection and selection, thus reducing the effort spent on suboptimal iPSC clones. PMID:24416407

Recognizable-image selection for fingerprint recognition with a mobile-device camera.

PubMed

Lee, Dongjae; Choi, Kyoungtaek; Choi, Heeseung; Kim, Jaihie

2008-02-01

This paper proposes a recognizable-image selection algorithm for fingerprint-verification systems that use a camera embedded in a mobile device. A recognizable image is defined as the fingerprint image which includes the characteristics that are sufficiently discriminating an individual from other people. While general camera systems obtain focused images by using various gradient measures to estimate high-frequency components, mobile cameras cannot acquire recognizable images in the same way because the obtained images may not be adequate for fingerprint recognition, even if they are properly focused. A recognizable image has to meet the following two conditions: First, valid region in the recognizable image should be large enough compared with other nonrecognizable images. Here, a valid region is a well-focused part, and ridges in the region are clearly distinguishable from valleys. In order to select valid regions, this paper proposes a new focus-measurement algorithm using the secondary partial derivatives and a quality estimation utilizing the coherence and symmetry of gradient distribution. Second, rolling and pitching degrees of a finger measured from the camera plane should be within some limit for a recognizable image. The position of a core point and the contour of a finger are used to estimate the degrees of rolling and pitching. Experimental results show that our proposed method selects valid regions and estimates the degrees of rolling and pitching properly. In addition, fingerprint-verification performance is improved by detecting the recognizable images.

Prehension synergies: A study of digit force adjustments to the continuously varied load force exerted on a partially constrained hand-held object

PubMed Central

Friedman, Jason; Latash, Mark L.; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M.

2009-01-01

We examined how the digit forces adjust when a load force acting on a hand-held object continuously varies. The subjects were required to hold the handle still while a linearly increasing and then decreasing force was applied to the handle. The handle was constrained, such that it could only move up and down, and rotate about a horizontal axis. In addition the moment arm of the thumb tangential force was 1.5 times the moment arm of the virtual finger (VF, an imagined finger with the mechanical action equal to that of the four fingers) force. Unlike the situation when there are equal moment arms, the experimental setup forced the subjects to choose between (a) sharing equally the increase in load force between the thumb and virtual finger but generating a moment of tangential force, which had to be compensated by negatively covarying the moment due to normal forces, or (b) sharing unequally the load force increase between the thumb and VF but preventing generation of a moment of tangential forces. We found that different subjects tended to use one of these two strategies. These findings suggest that the selection by the CNS of prehension synergies at the VF-thumb level with respect to the moment of force are non-obligatory and reflect individual subject preferences. This unequal sharing of the load by the tangential forces, in contrast to the previously observed equal sharing, suggests that the invariant feature of prehension may be a correlated increase in tangential forces rather than an equal increase. PMID:19554319

Self-locking telescoping manipulator arm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nesmith, M. F. (Inventor)

1985-01-01

A telescoping manipulator arm and pivotable finger assembly are disclosed. The telescoping arm assembly includes a generally T-shaped arm having three outwardly extending fingers guided on grooved roller guides to compensate for environmental variations. The pivotable finger assembly includes four pivoting fingers. Arcuate teeth are formed on the ends of the fingers. A rack having teeth on four sides meshes with each one of the fingers. One surface of the rack includes teeth along its entire surface which mesh with teeth of one of the fingers. The teeth at the remote end of the rack engage teeth of a gear wheel. The wheel includes a worm which meshes with a worn drive shaft of the drive motor providing a ninety degree self-locking drive for locking the fingers in a desired position. A similar drive provides a self-locking drive for positioning the telescoping arm.

Determining the bias and variance of a deterministic finger-tracking algorithm.

PubMed

Morash, Valerie S; van der Velden, Bas H M

2016-06-01

Finger tracking has the potential to expand haptic research and applications, as eye tracking has done in vision research. In research applications, it is desirable to know the bias and variance associated with a finger-tracking method. However, assessing the bias and variance of a deterministic method is not straightforward. Multiple measurements of the same finger position data will not produce different results, implying zero variance. Here, we present a method of assessing deterministic finger-tracking variance and bias through comparison to a non-deterministic measure. A proof-of-concept is presented using a video-based finger-tracking algorithm developed for the specific purpose of tracking participant fingers during a psychological research study. The algorithm uses ridge detection on videos of the participant's hand, and estimates the location of the right index fingertip. The algorithm was evaluated using data from four participants, who explored tactile maps using only their right index finger and all right-hand fingers. The algorithm identified the index fingertip in 99.78 % of one-finger video frames and 97.55 % of five-finger video frames. Although the algorithm produced slightly biased and more dispersed estimates relative to a human coder, these differences (x=0.08 cm, y=0.04 cm) and standard deviations (σ x =0.16 cm, σ y =0.21 cm) were small compared to the size of a fingertip (1.5-2.0 cm). Some example finger-tracking results are provided where corrections are made using the bias and variance estimates.

Refining the cross-finger flap: Considerations of flap insetting, aesthetics and donor site morbidity.

PubMed

Chong, Chew-Wei; Lin, Cheng-Hung; Lin, Yu-Te; Hsu, Chung-Chen; Chen, Shih-Heng

2018-04-01

We described a laterally based cross-finger flap for reconstruction of soft tissue defects in the fingers. This modification enables coverage of volar or dorsal soft tissue defects at the distal, middle or proximal phalanx. From March 2015 to January 2017, a total of 12 patients (13 fingers) underwent soft tissue reconstruction of the fingers with a laterally based cross-finger flap. The flap dimensions ranged from 13 ×7 mm to 43 ×13 mm. Eleven of the 13 flaps survived completely. The two flap failures were attributed to injuries in the donor fingers, rendering the blood supply of the flaps unreliable. All donor sites were closed primarily without the need for skin grafting, negating the problem of donor site morbidity that is associated with skin graft harvesting. The laterally based cross-finger flap is a versatile flap with less donor site morbidity and better aesthetics than a conventional cross-finger flap. We described the design of the flap, as well as the advantages and disadvantages, in doing a laterally based cross-finger flap. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Finger Joint Angles Based on Electromechanical Sensing of Wrist Shape.

PubMed

Kawaguchi, Junki; Yoshimoto, Shunsuke; Kuroda, Yoshihiro; Oshiro, Osamu

2017-09-01

An approach to finger motion capture that places fewer restrictions on the usage environment and actions of the user is an important research topic in biomechanics and human-computer interaction. We proposed a system that electrically detects finger motion from the associated deformation of the wrist and estimates the finger joint angles using multiple regression models. A wrist-mounted sensing device with 16 electrodes detects deformation of the wrist from changes in electrical contact resistance at the skin. In this study, we experimentally investigated the accuracy of finger joint angle estimation, the adequacy of two multiple regression models, and the resolution of the estimation of total finger joint angles. In experiments, both the finger joint angles and the system output voltage were recorded as subjects performed flexion/extension of the fingers. These data were used for calibration using the least-squares method. The system was found to be capable of estimating the total finger joint angle with a root-mean-square error of 29-34 degrees. A multiple regression model with a second-order polynomial basis function was shown to be suitable for the estimation of all total finger joint angles, but not those of the thumb.

Socioeconomic and other predictors of colonoscopy preparation quality.

PubMed

Lebwohl, Benjamin; Wang, Timothy C; Neugut, Alfred I

2010-07-01

Suboptimal bowel preparation prior to colonoscopy is a common occurrence, with a deleterious impact on colonoscopy effectiveness. Established risk factors for suboptimal bowel preparation have been proposed, but social factors, such as socioeconomic status and marital status, have not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate sociodemographic factors, including insurance status and marital status, as predictive of suboptimal preparation. We analyzed a database of 12,430 consecutive colonoscopies during a 28-month period at Columbia University Medical Center. We collected the following variables: age, gender, indication for colonoscopy, location (inpatient vs. outpatient), race, marital status, and Medicaid status. Preparation quality was recorded and dichotomized as optimal or suboptimal. We employed multivariate regression to determine independent risk factors for suboptimal bowel preparation. Among the 10,921 examinations in which bowel preparation was recorded, suboptimal preparation occurred in 34% of Medicaid patients versus 18% of non-Medicaid patients (P < 0.0001); this remained significant in the multivariate analysis (odds ratio (OR) 1.84, 95% CI 1.61-2.11). Married patients had decreased rates of suboptimal preparation (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.80-0.98). Other variables associated with suboptimal preparation included increased age (OR per 10 years 1.09, 95% CI 1.05-1.14), male gender (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.31-1.59), inpatient status (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.26-1.80), and later time of day (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.71-2.09). Unmarried status and Medicaid status are predictive of suboptimal bowel preparation. Future studies are warranted to identify how these social conditions predict bowel preparation quality and to implement interventions to optimize bowel preparation in vulnerable populations.

Intercalary non-vascularised toe phalanx transplantation for short finger-type symbrachydactyly.

PubMed

Kanauchi, Yumiko; Takahara, Masatoshi; Ogino, Toshihiko; Kashiwa, Hideo; Ishigaki, Daisuke

2003-12-01

A two-year-old boy with short finger-type symbrachydactyly involving the index, middle, and ring fingers was treated with intercalary nonvascularised toe phalanx transplantation into the middle finger to obtain stability of the middle finger before syndactyly release. He underwent syndactyly release one year after the transplantation. Two years after the transplantation, the clinical result was satisfactory, although X-ray showed fibrous union between the transplanted phalanx and the host phalanx. Intercalary nonvascularised toe phalanx transplantation is one of the way of stabilising a finger after syndactyly release.

Mutations in the haemagglutinin protein and their effect in transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus in sub-optimally vaccinated chickens.

PubMed

Sitaras, Ioannis; Rousou, Xanthoula; Peeters, Ben; de Jong, Mart C M

2016-11-04

Transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses in poultry flocks is associated with huge economic losses, culling of millions of birds, as well as human infections and deaths. In the cases where vaccination against avian influenza is used as a control measure, it has been found to be ineffective in preventing transmission of field strains. Reports suggest that one of the reasons for this is the use of vaccine doses much lower than the ones recommended by the manufacturer, resulting in very low levels of immunity. In a previous study, we selected for immune escape mutants using homologous polyclonal sera and used them as vaccines in transmission experiments. We concluded that provided a threshold of immunity is reached, antigenic distance between vaccine and challenge strains due to selection need not result in vaccine escape. Here, we evaluate the effect that the mutations in the haemagglutinin protein of our most antigenically-distant mutant may have in the transmission efficiency of this mutant to chickens vaccinated against the parent strain, under sub-optimal vaccination conditions resembling those often found in the field. In this study we employed reverse genetics techniques and transmission experiments to examine if the HA mutations of our most antigenically-distant mutant affect its efficiency to transmit to vaccinated chickens. In addition, we simulated sub-optimal vaccination conditions in the field, by using a very low vaccine dose. We find that the mutations in the HA protein of our most antigenically-distant mutant are not enough to allow it to evade even low levels of vaccination-induced immunity. Our results suggest that - for the antigenic distances we investigated - vaccination can reduce transmission of an antigenically-distant strain compared to the unvaccinated groups, even when low vaccine doses are used, resulting in low levels of immunity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A multiscale approach to simulating the conformational properties of unbound multi-C₂H₂ zinc finger proteins.

PubMed

Liu, Lei; Wade, Rebecca C; Heermann, Dieter W

2015-09-01

The conformational properties of unbound multi-Cys2 His2 (mC2H2) zinc finger proteins, in which zinc finger domains are connected by flexible linkers, are studied by a multiscale approach. Three methods on different length scales are utilized. First, atomic detail molecular dynamics simulations of one zinc finger and its adjacent flexible linker confirmed that the zinc finger is more rigid than the flexible linker. Second, the end-to-end distance distributions of mC2H2 zinc finger proteins are computed using an efficient atomistic pivoting algorithm, which only takes excluded volume interactions into consideration. The end-to-end distance distribution gradually changes its profile, from left-tailed to right-tailed, as the number of zinc fingers increases. This is explained by using a worm-like chain model. For proteins of a few zinc fingers, an effective bending constraint favors an extended conformation. Only for proteins containing more than nine zinc fingers, is a somewhat compacted conformation preferred. Third, a mesoscale model is modified to study both the local and the global conformational properties of multi-C2H2 zinc finger proteins. Simulations of the CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), an important mC2H2 zinc finger protein for genome spatial organization, are presented. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Separating the Role of Protein Restraints and Local Metal-Site Interaction Chemistry in the Thermodynamics of a Zinc Finger Protein

PubMed Central

Dixit, Purushottam D.; Asthagiri, D.

2011-01-01

We express the effective Hamiltonian of an ion-binding site in a protein as a combination of the Hamiltonian of the ion-bound site in vacuum and the restraints of the protein on the site. The protein restraints are described by the quadratic elastic network model. The Hamiltonian of the ion-bound site in vacuum is approximated as a generalized Hessian around the minimum energy configuration. The resultant of the two quadratic Hamiltonians is cast into a pure quadratic form. In the canonical ensemble, the quadratic nature of the resultant Hamiltonian allows us to express analytically the excess free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of ion binding to the protein. The analytical expressions allow us to separate the roles of the dynamic restraints imposed by the protein on the binding site and the temperature-independent chemical effects in metal-ligand coordination. For the consensus zinc-finger peptide, relative to the aqueous phase, the calculated free energy of exchanging Zn2+ with Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, and Cd2+ are in agreement with experiments. The predicted excess enthalpy of ion exchange between Zn2+ and Co2+ also agrees with the available experimental estimate. The free energy of applying the protein restraints reveals that relative to Zn2+, the Co2+, and Cd2+-site clusters are more destabilized by the protein restraints. This leads to an experimentally testable hypothesis that a tetrahedral metal binding site with minimal protein restraints will be less selective for Zn2+ over Co2+ and Cd2+ compared to a zinc finger peptide. No appreciable change is expected for Fe2+ and Ni2+. The framework presented here may prove useful in protein engineering to tune metal selectivity. PMID:21943427

Suboptimal maternal and paternal mental health are associated with child bullying perpetration.

PubMed

Shetgiri, Rashmi; Lin, Hua; Flores, Glenn

2015-06-01

This study examines associations between maternal and paternal mental health and child bullying perpetration among school-age children, and whether having one or both parents with suboptimal mental health is associated with bullying. The 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally-representative, random-digit-dial survey, was analyzed, using a parent-reported bullying measure. Suboptimal mental health was defined as fair/poor (vs. good/very good/excellent) parental self-reported mental and emotional health. Of the 61,613 parents surveyed, more than half were parents of boys and were white, 20% were Latino, 15% African American, and 7% other race/ethnicity. Suboptimal maternal (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.8) and paternal (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.1-2.2) mental health are associated with bullying. Compared with children with no parents with suboptimal mental health, children with only one or both parents with suboptimal mental health have higher bullying odds. Addressing the mental health of both parents may prove beneficial in preventing bullying.

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Finger-Vein Recognition Using NIR Image Sensors

PubMed Central

Hong, Hyung Gil; Lee, Min Beom; Park, Kang Ryoung

2017-01-01

Conventional finger-vein recognition systems perform recognition based on the finger-vein lines extracted from the input images or image enhancement, and texture feature extraction from the finger-vein images. In these cases, however, the inaccurate detection of finger-vein lines lowers the recognition accuracy. In the case of texture feature extraction, the developer must experimentally decide on a form of the optimal filter for extraction considering the characteristics of the image database. To address this problem, this research proposes a finger-vein recognition method that is robust to various database types and environmental changes based on the convolutional neural network (CNN). In the experiments using the two finger-vein databases constructed in this research and the SDUMLA-HMT finger-vein database, which is an open database, the method proposed in this research showed a better performance compared to the conventional methods. PMID:28587269

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Finger-Vein Recognition Using NIR Image Sensors.

PubMed

Hong, Hyung Gil; Lee, Min Beom; Park, Kang Ryoung

2017-06-06

Conventional finger-vein recognition systems perform recognition based on the finger-vein lines extracted from the input images or image enhancement, and texture feature extraction from the finger-vein images. In these cases, however, the inaccurate detection of finger-vein lines lowers the recognition accuracy. In the case of texture feature extraction, the developer must experimentally decide on a form of the optimal filter for extraction considering the characteristics of the image database. To address this problem, this research proposes a finger-vein recognition method that is robust to various database types and environmental changes based on the convolutional neural network (CNN). In the experiments using the two finger-vein databases constructed in this research and the SDUMLA-HMT finger-vein database, which is an open database, the method proposed in this research showed a better performance compared to the conventional methods.

Finger-vein and fingerprint recognition based on a feature-level fusion method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jinfeng; Hong, Bofeng

2013-07-01

Multimodal biometrics based on the finger identification is a hot topic in recent years. In this paper, a novel fingerprint-vein based biometric method is proposed to improve the reliability and accuracy of the finger recognition system. First, the second order steerable filters are used here to enhance and extract the minutiae features of the fingerprint (FP) and finger-vein (FV). Second, the texture features of fingerprint and finger-vein are extracted by a bank of Gabor filter. Third, a new triangle-region fusion method is proposed to integrate all the fingerprint and finger-vein features in feature-level. Thus, the fusion features contain both the finger texture-information and the minutiae triangular geometry structure. Finally, experimental results performed on the self-constructed finger-vein and fingerprint databases are shown that the proposed method is reliable and precise in personal identification.

Analysis of prosody in finger braille using electromyography.

PubMed

Miyagi, Manabi; Nishida, Masafumi; Horiuchi, Yasuo; Ichikawa, Akira

2006-01-01

Finger braille is one of the communication methods for the deaf blind. The interpreter types braille codes on the fingers of deaf blind. Finger braille seems to be the most suitable medium for real-time communication by its speed and accuracy of transmitting characters. We hypothesize that the prosody information exists in the time structure and strength of finger braille typing. Prosody is the paralinguistic information that has functions to transmit the sentence structure, prominence, emotions and other form of information in real time communication. In this study, we measured the surface electromyography (sEMG) of finger movement to analyze the typing strength of finger braille. We found that the typing strength increases at the beginning of a phrase and a prominent phrase. The result shows the possibility that the prosody in the typing strength of finger braille can be applied to create an interpreter system for the deafblind.

The Role of Vision in the Development of Finger-Number Interactions: Finger-Counting and Finger-Montring in Blind Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crollen, Virginie; Mahe, Rachel; Collignon, Olivier; Seron, Xavier

2011-01-01

Previous research has suggested that the use of the fingers may play a functional role in the development of a mature counting system. However, the role of developmental vision in the elaboration of a finger numeral representation remains unexplored. In the current study, 14 congenitally blind children and 14 matched sighted controls undertook…

Modulated cortical control of individual fingers in experienced musicians: an EEG study. Electroencephalographic study.

PubMed

Slobounov, S; Chiang, H; Johnston, J; Ray, W

2002-12-01

The present research was designed to address the nature of interdependency between fingers during force production tasks in subjects with varying experience in performing independent finger manipulation. Specifically, behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures associated with controllability of the most enslaved (ring) and the least enslaved (index) fingers was examined in musicians and non-musicians. Six piano players and 6 age-matched control subjects performed a series of isometric force production tasks with the index and ring fingers. Subjects produced 3 different force levels with either their index or ring fingers. We measured the isometric force output produced by all 4 fingers (index, ring, middle and little), including both ramp and static phases of force production. We applied time-domain averaging of EEG single trials in order to extract 4 components of the movement-related cortical potentials (MRCP) preceding and accompanying force responses. Three behavioral findings were observed. First, musicians were more accurate than non-musicians at reaching the desired force level. Second, musicians showed less enslaving as compared to non-musicians. And third, the amount of enslaving increased with the increment of nominal force levels regardless of whether the index or ring finger was used as the master finger. In terms of EEG measures, we found differences between tasks performed with the index and ring fingers in non-musicians. For musicians, we found larger MRCP amplitudes at most electrode sites for the ring finger. Our data extends previous enslaving research and suggest an important role for previous experience in terms of the independent use of the fingers. Given that a variety of previous work has shown finger independence to be reflected in cortical representation in the brain and our findings of MRCP amplitude associated with greater independence of fingers in musicians, this suggests that what has been considered to be stable constraints in terms of finger movements can be modulated by experience. This work supports the idea that experience is associated with changes in behavioral and EEG correlates of task performance and may have clinical implications in disorders such as stroke or focal hand dystonia. Practice-related procedures offer useful approaches to rehabilitation strategies.

Adaptive increase in force variance during fatigue in tasks with low redundancy.

PubMed

Singh, Tarkeshwar; S K M, Varadhan; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M; Latash, Mark L

2010-11-26

We tested a hypothesis that fatigue of an element (a finger) leads to an adaptive neural strategy that involves an increase in force variability in the other finger(s) and an increase in co-variation of commands to fingers to keep total force variability relatively unchanged. We tested this hypothesis using a system with small redundancy (two fingers) and a marginally redundant system (with an additional constraint related to the total moment of force produced by the fingers, unstable condition). The subjects performed isometric accurate rhythmic force production tasks by the index (I) finger and two fingers (I and middle, M) pressing together before and after a fatiguing exercise by the I finger. Fatigue led to a large increase in force variance in the I-finger task and a smaller increase in the IM-task. We quantified two components of variance in the space of hypothetical commands to fingers, finger modes. Under both stable and unstable conditions, there was a large increase in the variance component that did not affect total force and a much smaller increase in the component that did. This resulted in an increase in an index of the force-stabilizing synergy. These results indicate that marginal redundancy is sufficient to allow the central nervous system to use adaptive increase in variability to shield important variables from effects of fatigue. We offer an interpretation of these results based on a recent development of the equilibrium-point hypothesis known as the referent configuration hypothesis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Finger agnosia and cognitive deficits in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Davis, Andrew S; Trotter, Jeffrey S; Hertza, Jeremy; Bell, Christopher D; Dean, Raymond S

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of finger agnosia in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to determine if level of finger agnosia was related to cognitive impairment. Finger agnosia is a sensitive measure of cerebral impairment and is associated with neurofunctional areas implicated in AD. Using a standardized and norm-referenced approach, results indicated that patients with AD evidenced significantly decreased performance on tests of bilateral finger agnosia compared with healthy age-matched controls. Finger agnosia was predictive of cognitive dysfunction on four of seven domains, including: Crystallized Language, Fluid Processing, Associative Learning, and Processing Speed. Results suggest that measures of finger agnosia, a short and simple test, may be useful in the early detection of AD.

Robust finger vein ROI localization based on flexible segmentation.

PubMed

Lu, Yu; Xie, Shan Juan; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

2013-10-24

Finger veins have been proved to be an effective biometric for personal identification in the recent years. However, finger vein images are easily affected by influences such as image translation, orientation, scale, scattering, finger structure, complicated background, uneven illumination, and collection posture. All these factors may contribute to inaccurate region of interest (ROI) definition, and so degrade the performance of finger vein identification system. To improve this problem, in this paper, we propose a finger vein ROI localization method that has high effectiveness and robustness against the above factors. The proposed method consists of a set of steps to localize ROIs accurately, namely segmentation, orientation correction, and ROI detection. Accurate finger region segmentation and correct calculated orientation can support each other to produce higher accuracy in localizing ROIs. Extensive experiments have been performed on the finger vein image database, MMCBNU_6000, to verify the robustness of the proposed method. The proposed method shows the segmentation accuracy of 100%. Furthermore, the average processing time of the proposed method is 22 ms for an acquired image, which satisfies the criterion of a real-time finger vein identification system.

Number magnitude to finger mapping is disembodied and topological.

PubMed

Plaisier, Myrthe A; Smeets, Jeroen B J

2011-03-01

It has been shown that humans associate fingers with numbers because finger counting strategies interact with numerical judgements. At the same time, there is evidence that there is a relation between number magnitude and space as small to large numbers seem to be represented from left to right. In the present study, we investigated whether number magnitude to finger mapping is embodied (related to the order of fingers on the hand) or disembodied (spatial). We let healthy human volunteers name random numbers between 1 and 30, while simultaneously tapping a random finger. Either the hands were placed directly next to each other, 30 cm apart, or the hands were crossed such that the left hand was on the right side of the body mid-line. The results show that naming a smaller number than the previous one was associated with tapping a finger to the left of the previously tapped finger. This shows that there is a spatial (disembodied) mapping between number magnitude and fingers. Furthermore, we show that this mapping is topological rather than metrically scaled.

Robust Finger Vein ROI Localization Based on Flexible Segmentation

PubMed Central

Lu, Yu; Xie, Shan Juan; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

2013-01-01

Finger veins have been proved to be an effective biometric for personal identification in the recent years. However, finger vein images are easily affected by influences such as image translation, orientation, scale, scattering, finger structure, complicated background, uneven illumination, and collection posture. All these factors may contribute to inaccurate region of interest (ROI) definition, and so degrade the performance of finger vein identification system. To improve this problem, in this paper, we propose a finger vein ROI localization method that has high effectiveness and robustness against the above factors. The proposed method consists of a set of steps to localize ROIs accurately, namely segmentation, orientation correction, and ROI detection. Accurate finger region segmentation and correct calculated orientation can support each other to produce higher accuracy in localizing ROIs. Extensive experiments have been performed on the finger vein image database, MMCBNU_6000, to verify the robustness of the proposed method. The proposed method shows the segmentation accuracy of 100%. Furthermore, the average processing time of the proposed method is 22 ms for an acquired image, which satisfies the criterion of a real-time finger vein identification system. PMID:24284769

Finger vein extraction using gradient normalization and principal curvature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Joon Hwan; Song, Wonseok; Kim, Taejeong; Lee, Seung-Rae; Kim, Hee Chan

2009-02-01

Finger vein authentication is a personal identification technology using finger vein images acquired by infrared imaging. It is one of the newest technologies in biometrics. Its main advantage over other biometrics is the low risk of forgery or theft, due to the fact that finger veins are not normally visible to others. Extracting finger vein patterns from infrared images is the most difficult part in finger vein authentication. Uneven illumination, varying tissues and bones, and changes in the physical conditions and the blood flow make the thickness and brightness of the same vein different in each acquisition. Accordingly, extracting finger veins at their accurate positions regardless of their thickness and brightness is necessary for accurate personal identification. For this purpose, we propose a new finger vein extraction method which is composed of gradient normalization, principal curvature calculation, and binarization. As local brightness variation has little effect on the curvature and as gradient normalization makes the curvature fairly uniform at vein pixels, our method effectively extracts finger vein patterns regardless of the vein thickness or brightness. In our experiment, the proposed method showed notable improvement as compared with the existing methods.

Application of Copper-Chitosan Nanoparticles Stimulate Growth and Induce Resistance in Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.) Plants against Blast Disease.

PubMed

Sathiyabama, Muthukrishnan; Manikandan, Appu

2018-02-28

Copper-chitosan nanoparticle (CuChNp) was synthesized and used to study its effect on finger millet plant as a model plant system. Our objective was to explore the efficacy of CuChNp application to control blast disease of finger millet. CuChNp was applied to finger millet either as a foliar spray or as a combined application (involving seed coat and foliar spray). Both the application methods enhanced growth profile of finger millet plants and increased yield. The increased yield was nearly 89% in combined application method. Treated finger millet plants challenged with Pyricularia grisea showed suppression of blast disease development when compared to control. Nearly 75% protection was observed in the combined application of CuChNp to finger millet plants. In CuChNp treated finger millet plants, a significant increase in defense enzymes was observed, which was detected both qualitatively and quantitatively. The suppression of blast disease correlates well with increased defense enzymes in CuChNp treated finger millet plants.

Choosing face: The curse of self in profile image selection.

PubMed

White, David; Sutherland, Clare A M; Burton, Amy L

2017-01-01

People draw automatic social inferences from photos of unfamiliar faces and these first impressions are associated with important real-world outcomes. Here we examine the effect of selecting online profile images on first impressions. We model the process of profile image selection by asking participants to indicate the likelihood that images of their own face ("self-selection") and of an unfamiliar face ("other-selection") would be used as profile images on key social networking sites. Across two large Internet-based studies (n = 610), in line with predictions, image selections accentuated favorable social impressions and these impressions were aligned to the social context of the networking sites. However, contrary to predictions based on people's general expertise in self-presentation, other-selected images conferred more favorable impressions than self-selected images. We conclude that people make suboptimal choices when selecting their own profile pictures, such that self-perception places important limits on facial first impressions formed by others. These results underscore the dynamic nature of person perception in real-world contexts.

Influence of Space Flight Factors on the Genetic Properties of Streptomyces Lividans 66 (PIJ702)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tabakov, V. Yu.; Voeikova, T. A.; Tairbekov, M. G.; Goins, T. L.; Martinson, V. G.; Pyle, B. H.

2006-01-01

Gram-positive Streptomyces bacteria display genetic instability in response to external factors. Strain S. lividans 66 harbors the multicopy plasmid pIJ702 with selective and differential marker genes for antibiotic thiostrepton resistance and melanin production. Culture plates of modified ISP agar medium with and without thiostrepton were flown on Foton-M2. Suboptimal flight temperatures, which were simulated for asynchronous ground controls, resulted in slow growth and failure to differentiate and sporulate. Flight samples and asynchronous controls showed a high frequency of failing to express plasmid markers compared to laboratory controls. This was associated with loss of plasmid DNA and likely resulted from suboptimal temperatures for flight cultures and controls. Neither restriction fragment length polymorphism, nor polymerase chain reaction amplification coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, revealed differences between pIJ702 DNA from flight vs. control clones. Mutations of the plasmid marker genes resulting from specific spaceflight factors, e.g., microgravity and radiation, were not detected.

High co-occurrence of anorectal chlamydia with urogenital chlamydia in women visiting an STI clinic revealed by routine universal testing in an observational study; a recommendation towards a better anorectal chlamydia control in women.

PubMed

van Liere, Geneviève A F S; Hoebe, Christian J P A; Wolffs, Petra F G; Dukers-Muijrers, Nicole H T M

2014-05-19

Symptom- and sexual history-based testing i.e., testing on indication, for anorectal sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women is common. Yet, it is unknown whether this strategy is effective. Moreover, little is known about alternative transmission routes i.e. by fingers/toys. This study assesses anorectal STI prevalence and infections missed by current testing practice, thereby informing the optimal control strategy for anorectal STIs in women. Women (n = 663) attending our STI-clinic between May 2012-July 2013 were offered routine testing for anorectal and urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Data were collected on demographics, sexual behaviour and symptoms. Women were assigned to one of the categories: indication (reported anal sex/symptoms), fingers/toys (only reported use of fingers/toys), or without indication. Of women, 92% (n = 654) participated. There were 203 reports (31.0%) of anal sex and/or symptoms (indication), 48 reports (7.3%) of only using fingers/toys (fingers/toys), and 403 reports (61.6%) of no anal symptoms, no anal sex and no anal use of fingers/toys (without indication). The overall prevalence was 11.2% (73/654) for urogenital chlamydia and 8.4% (55/654) for anorectal chlamydia. Gonorrhoea infections were not observed. Prevalence of anorectal chlamydia was 7.9% (16/203) for women with indication and 8.6% (39/451) for all other women (P = 0.74). Two-thirds (39/55) of anorectal infections were diagnosed in women without indication. Isolated anorectal chlamydia was rare (n = 3): of all women with an anorectal infection, 94.5% (52/55) also had co-occurrence of urogenital chlamydia. Of all women with urogenital chlamydia, 71.2% (52/73) also had anorectal chlamydia. Current selective testing on indication of symptoms and sexual history is not an appropriate control strategy for anorectal chlamydia in women visiting an STI clinic. Routine universal anorectal testing is feasible and may be a possible control strategy in women. Yet costs may be a problem. When more restricted control measures are preferred, possible alternatives include (1) anorectal testing only in women with urogenital chlamydia (problem: treatment delay or loss to follow up), and (2) direct treatment for urogenital chlamydia that is effective for anorectal chlamydia as well.

X-Ray Exam: Finger

MedlinePlus

... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español X-Ray Exam: Finger KidsHealth / For Parents / X-Ray Exam: Finger What's in this article? What ... Have Questions Print What It Is A finger X-ray is a safe and painless test that ...

Vibration energy absorption (VEA) in human fingers-hand-arm system.

PubMed

Dong, R G; Schopper, A W; McDowell, T W; Welcome, D E; Wu, J Z; Smutz, W P; Warren, C; Rakheja, S

2004-07-01

A methodology for measuring the vibration energy absorbed into the fingers and the palm exposed to vibration is proposed to study the distribution of the vibration energy absorption (VEA) in the fingers-hand-arm system and to explore its potential association with vibration-induced white finger (VWF). The study involved 12 adult male subjects, constant-velocity sinusoidal excitations at 10 different discrete frequencies in the range of 16-1000 Hz, and four different hand-handle coupling conditions (finger pull-only, hand grip-only, palm push-only, and combined grip and push). The results of the study suggest that the VEA into the fingers is considerably less than that into the palm at low frequencies (< or = 25 Hz). They are, however, comparable under the excitations in the 250-1000 Hz frequency range. The finger VEA at high frequencies (> or = 100 Hz) is practically independent of the hand-handle coupling condition. The coupling conditions affect the VEA into the fingers and the palm very differently. The finger VEA results suggest that the ISO standardized frequency weighting (ISO 5349-1, 2001) may underestimate the effect of high frequency vibration on vibration-induced finger disorders. The proposed method may provide new opportunities to examine VEA and its association with VWF and other types of vibration-induced disorders in the hand-arm system.

Comparative analyses reveal high levels of conserved colinearity between the finger millet and rice genomes.

PubMed

Srinivasachary; Dida, Mathews M; Gale, Mike D; Devos, Katrien M

2007-08-01

Finger millet is an allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 36) grass that belongs to the Chloridoideae subfamily. A comparative analysis has been carried out to determine the relationship of the finger millet genome with that of rice. Six of the nine finger millet homoeologous groups corresponded to a single rice chromosome each. Each of the remaining three finger millet groups were orthologous to two rice chromosomes, and in all the three cases one rice chromosome was inserted into the centromeric region of a second rice chromosome to give the finger millet chromosomal configuration. All observed rearrangements were, among the grasses, unique to finger millet and, possibly, the Chloridoideae subfamily. Gene orders between rice and finger millet were highly conserved, with rearrangements being limited largely to single marker transpositions and small putative inversions encompassing at most three markers. Only some 10% of markers mapped to non-syntenic positions in rice and finger millet and the majority of these were located in the distal 14% of chromosome arms, supporting a possible correlation between recombination and sequence evolution as has previously been observed in wheat. A comparison of the organization of finger millet, Panicoideae and Pooideae genomes relative to rice allowed us to infer putative ancestral chromosome configurations in the grasses.

Three-dimensional Rayleigh-Taylor convection of miscible fluids in a porous medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suekane, Tetsuya; Nakanishi, Yuji; Wang, Lei

2017-11-01

Natural convection of miscible fluids in a porous medium is relevant for fields, such as geoscience and geoengineering, and for the geological storage of CO2. In this study, we use X-ray computer tomography to visualize 3D fingering structures associated with the Rayleigh-Taylor instability between miscible fluids in a porous medium. In the early stages of the onset of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, a fine crinkling pattern gradually appears at the interface. As the wavelength and amplitude increase, descending fingers form on the interface and extend vertically downward; moreover, ascending and highly symmetric fingers form. The adjacent fingers are cylindrical in shape and coalesce to form large fingers. Fingers appearing on the interface tend to become finer with increasing Rayleigh number, which is consistent with linear perturbation theory. If the Péclet number exceeds 10, the transverse dispersion increases the finger diameter and enhances finger coalescence, strongly impacting the decay in finger number density. When mechanical dispersion is negligible, the finger-extension velocity, the mass-transfer rate, and the onset time scale with Rayleigh number. Mechanical dispersion not only reduces the onset time but also enhances mass transport, which indicates that mechanical dispersion influences the long-term dissolution process of CO2 injected into aquifers.

Ultrafast High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Finger Pore Imaging in Latent Finger Prints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elsner, Christian; Abel, Bernd

2014-11-01

Latent finger prints (LFPs) are deposits of sweat components in ridge and groove patterns, left after human fingers contact with a surface. Being important targets in biometry and forensic investigations they contain more information than topological patterns. With laser desorption mass spectrometry imaging (LD-MSI) we record `three-dimensional' finger prints with additional chemical information as the third dimension. Here we show the potential of fast finger pore imaging (FPI) in latent finger prints employing LD-MSI without a classical matrix in a high- spatial resolution mode. Thin films of gold rapidly sputtered on top of the sample are used for desorption. FPI employing an optical image for rapid spatial orientation and guiding of the desorption laser enables the rapid analysis of individual finger pores, and the chemical composition of their excretions. With this approach we rapidly detect metabolites, drugs, and characteristic excretions from the inside of the human organism by a minimally-invasive strategy, and distinguish them from chemicals in contact with fingers without any labeling. The fast finger pore imaging, analysis, and screening approach opens the door for a vast number of novel applications in such different fields as forensics, doping and medication control, therapy, as well as rapid profiling of individuals.

Specific insertions of zinc finger domains into Gag-Pol yield engineered retroviral vectors with selective integration properties

PubMed Central

Lim, Kwang-il; Klimczak, Ryan; Yu, Julie H.; Schaffer, David V.

2010-01-01

Retroviral vectors offer benefits of efficient delivery and stable gene expression; however, their clinical use raises the concerns of insertional mutagenesis and potential oncogenesis due to genomic integration preferences in transcriptional start sites (TSS). We have shifted the integration preferences of retroviral vectors by generating a library of viral variants with a DNA-binding domain inserted at random positions throughout murine leukemia virus Gag-Pol, then selecting for variants that are viable and exhibit altered integration properties. We found seven permissive zinc finger domain (ZFD) insertion sites throughout Gag-Pol, including within p12, reverse transcriptase, and integrase. Comprehensive genome integration analysis showed that several ZFD insertions yielded retroviral vector variants with shifted integration patterns that did not favor TSS. Furthermore, integration site analysis revealed selective integration for numerous mutants. For example, two retroviral variants with a given ZFD at appropriate positions in Gag-Pol strikingly integrated primarily into four common sites out of 3.1 × 109 possible human genome locations (P = 4.6 × 10-29). Our findings demonstrate that insertion of DNA-binding motifs into multiple locations in Gag-Pol can make considerable progress toward engineering safer retroviral vectors that integrate into a significantly narrowed pool of sites on human genome and overcome the preference for TSS. PMID:20616052

Suboptimal care and perinatal mortality in ten European regions: methodology and evaluation of an international audit.

PubMed

Richardus, J H; Graafmans, W C; Bergsjø, P; Lloyd, D J; Bakketeig, L S; Bannon, E M; Borkent-Polet, M; Davidson, L L; Defoort, P; Leitão, A Esparteiro; Langhoff-Roos, J; Garcia, A Moral; Papantoniou, N E; Wennergren, M; Amelink-Verburg, M P; Verloove-Vanhorick, S P; Mackenbach, J P

2003-10-01

A European concerted action (the EuroNatal study) investigated differences in perinatal mortality between countries of Europe. This report describes the methods used in the EuroNatal international audit and discusses the validity of the results. Perinatal deaths between 1993 and 1998 in regions of ten European countries were identified. The categories of death chosen for the study were singleton fetal deaths at 28 or more weeks of gestational age, all intrapartum deaths at 28 or more weeks of gestational age and neonatal deaths at 34 or more weeks of gestational age. Deaths with major congenital anomalies were excluded. An international audit panel used explicit criteria to review all cases, which were blinded for region. Subjective interpretation was used in cases of events or interventions where explicit criteria did not exist. Suboptimal factors were identified in the antenatal, intrapartum and neonatal periods, and classified as 'maternal/social', due to 'infrastructure/service organization', or due to 'professional care delivery'. The contribution of each suboptimal factor to the fatal outcome was listed and consensus was reached on a final grade using a procedure that included correspondence and plenary meetings. In all regions combined, 90% of all known or estimated cases in the selected categories were included in the audit. In total, 1619 cases of perinatal death were audited. Consensus was reached in 1543 (95%) cases. In 75% of all cases, the grade was based on explicit criteria. In the remaining cases, consensus was reached within subpanels without reference to predefined criteria. There was reasonable to good agreement between and within subpanels, and within panel members. The international audit procedure proved feasible and led to consistent results. The results that relate to suboptimal care will need to be studied in depth in order to reach conclusions about their implications for assessing the quality of perinatal care in the individual regions.

The Complete Book of Rhymes, Songs, Poems, Fingerplays, and Chants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silberg, Jackie; Schiller, Pam

Aside from being fun to do, singing songs, saying poems and rhymes, and doing finger plays with children helps them develop early literacy skills. The 700 selections in this compilation of songs and rhymes will help children ages 3 to 6 build a strong foundation in skills and concepts such as listening; colors, shapes, and counting; vocabulary;…

Equifinality and its violations in a redundant system: multifinger accurate force production.

PubMed

Wilhelm, Luke; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M; Latash, Mark L

2013-10-01

We explored a hypothesis that transient perturbations applied to a redundant system result in equifinality in the space of task-related performance variables but not in the space of elemental variables. The subjects pressed with four fingers and produced an accurate constant total force level. The "inverse piano" device was used to lift and lower one of the fingers smoothly. The subjects were instructed "not to intervene voluntarily" with possible force changes. Analysis was performed in spaces of finger forces and finger modes (hypothetical neural commands to fingers) as elemental variables. Lifting a finger led to an increase in its force and a decrease in the forces of the other three fingers; the total force increased. Lowering the finger back led to a drop in the force of the perturbed finger. At the final state, the sum of the variances of finger forces/modes computed across repetitive trials was significantly higher than the variance of the total force/mode. Most variance of the individual finger force/mode changes between the preperturbation and postperturbation states was compatible with constant total force. We conclude that a transient perturbation applied to a redundant system leads to relatively small variance in the task-related performance variable (equifinality), whereas in the space of elemental variables much more variance occurs that does not lead to total force changes. We interpret the results within a general theoretical scheme that incorporates the ideas of hierarchically organized control, control with referent configurations, synergic control, and the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis.

Speed invariance of independent control of finger movements in pianists

PubMed Central

Soechting, John F.

2012-01-01

Independent control of finger movements characterizes skilled motor behaviors such as tool use and musical performance. The purpose of the present study was to identify the effect of movement frequency (tempo) on individuated finger movements in piano playing. Joint motion at the digits was recorded while 5 expert pianists were playing 30 excerpts from musical pieces with different fingering and key locations either at a predetermined normal tempo or as fast as possible. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis using an expectation-maximization algorithm determined three distinct patterns of finger movement coordination for a keypress with each of the index, middle, ring, and little fingers at each of the two tempi. The finger kinematics of each coordination pattern was overall similar across the tempi. Tone sequences assigned into each cluster were also similar for both tempi. A linear regression analysis determined no apparent difference in the amount of movement covariation between the striking and nonstriking fingers at both metacarpo-phalangeal and proximal-interphalangeal joints across the two tempi, which indicated no effect of tempo on independent finger movements in piano playing. In addition, the standard deviation of interkeystroke interval across strokes did not differ between the two tempi, indicating maintenance of rhythmic accuracy of keystrokes. Strong temporal constraints on finger movements during piano playing may underlie the maintained independent control of fingers over a wider range of tempi, a feature being likely to be specific to skilled pianists. PMID:22815403

Torque Control of Underactuated Tendon-driven Robotic Fingers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Wampler, Charles W. (Inventor); Abdallah, Muhammad E. (Inventor); Reiland, Matthew J. (Inventor); Diftler, Myron A. (Inventor); Bridgwater, Lyndon (Inventor); Platt, Robert (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A robotic system includes a robot having a total number of degrees of freedom (DOF) equal to at least n, an underactuated tendon-driven finger driven by n tendons and n DOF, the finger having at least two joints, being characterized by an asymmetrical joint radius in one embodiment. A controller is in communication with the robot, and controls actuation of the tendon-driven finger using force control. Operating the finger with force control on the tendons, rather than position control, eliminates the unconstrained slack-space that would have otherwise existed. The controller may utilize the asymmetrical joint radii to independently command joint torques. A method of controlling the finger includes commanding either independent or parameterized joint torques to the controller to actuate the fingers via force control on the tendons.

Finger movement at birth in brachial plexus birth palsy

PubMed Central

Nath, Rahul K; Benyahia, Mohamed; Somasundaram, Chandra

2013-01-01

AIM: To investigate whether the finger movement at birth is a better predictor of the brachial plexus birth injury. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study reviewing pre-surgical records of 87 patients with residual obstetric brachial plexus palsy in study 1. Posterior subluxation of the humeral head (PHHA), and glenoid retroversion were measured from computed tomography or Magnetic resonance imaging, and correlated with the finger movement at birth. The study 2 consisted of 141 obstetric brachial plexus injury patients, who underwent primary surgeries and/or secondary surgery at the Texas Nerve and Paralysis Institute. Information regarding finger movement was obtained from the patient’s parent or guardian during the initial evaluation. RESULTS: Among 87 patients, 9 (10.3%) patients who lacked finger movement at birth had a PHHA > 40%, and glenoid retroversion < -12°, whereas only 1 patient (1.1%) with finger movement had a PHHA > 40%, and retroversion < -8° in study 1. The improvement in glenohumeral deformity (PHHA, 31.8% ± 14.3%; and glenoid retroversion 22.0° ± 15.0°) was significantly higher in patients, who have not had any primary surgeries and had finger movement at birth (group 1), when compared to those patients, who had primary surgeries (nerve and muscle surgeries), and lacked finger movement at birth (group 2), (PHHA 10.7% ± 15.8%; Version -8.0° ± 8.4°, P = 0.005 and P = 0.030, respectively) in study 2. No finger movement at birth was observed in 55% of the patients in this study group. CONCLUSION: Posterior subluxation and glenoid retroversion measurements indicated significantly severe shoulder deformities in children with finger movement at birth, in comparison with those lacked finger movement. However, the improvement after triangle tilt surgery was higher in patients who had finger movement at birth. PMID:23362472

On the relationship between finger width, velocity, and fluxes in thermohaline convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreenivas, K. R.; Singh, O. P.; Srinivasan, J.

2009-02-01

Double-diffusive finger convection occurs in many natural processes. The theories for double-diffusive phenomena that exist at present consider systems with linear stratification in temperature and salinity. The double-diffusive systems with step change in salinity and temperature are, however, not amenable to simple stability analysis. Hence factors that control the width of the finger, velocity, and fluxes in systems that have step change in temperature and salinity have not been understood so far. In this paper we provide new physical insight regarding factors that influence finger convection in two-layer double-diffusive system through two-dimensional numerical simulations. Simulations have been carried out for density stability ratios (Rρ) from 1.5 to 10. For each density stability ratio, the thermal Rayleigh number (RaT) has been systematically varied from 7×103 to 7×108. Results from these simulations show how finger width, velocity, and flux ratios in finger convection are interrelated and the influence of governing parameters such as density stability ratio and the thermal Rayleigh number. The width of the incipient fingers at the time of onset of instability has been shown to vary as RaT-1/3. Velocity in the finger varies as RaT1/3/Rρ. Results from simulation agree with the scale analysis presented in the paper. Our results demonstrate that wide fingers have lower velocities and flux ratios compared to those in narrow fingers. This result contradicts present notions about the relation between finger width and flux ratio. A counterflow heat-exchanger analogy is used in understanding the dependence of flux ratio on finger width and velocity.

Hand rehabilitation using MIDI keyboard playing in adolescents with brain damage: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Chong, Hyun Ju; Cho, Sung-Rae; Kim, Soo Ji

2014-01-01

As a sequential, programmed movement of fingers, keyboard playing is a promising technique for inducing execution and a high level of coordination during finger movements. Also, keyboard playing can be physically and emotionally rewarding for adolescents in rehabilitation settings and thereby motivate continued involvement in treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of keyboard playing using Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) on finger movement for adolescents with brain damage. Eight adolescents with brain damage, ages 9 to 18 years (M = 13 years, SD = 2.78), in physical rehabilitation settings participated in this study. Measurements included MIDI keyboard playing for pressing force of the fingers and hand function tests (Grip and Pinch Power Test, Box and Block Test of Manual Dexterity [BBT], and the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test). Results showed increased velocity of all fingers on the MIDI-based test, and statistical significance was found in the velocity of F2 (index finger), F3 (middle finger), and F5 (little finger) between pre- and post-training tests. Correlation analysis between the pressing force of the finger and hand function tests showed a strong positive correlation between the measure of grip power and the pressing force of F2 and F5 on the Grip and Pinch Strength Test. All fingers showed strong correlation between MIDI results and BBT. For the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test, only the moving light objects task at post-training yielded strong correlation with MIDI results of all fingers. The results support using keyboard playing for hand rehabilitation, especially in the pressing force of individual finger sequential movements. Further investigation is needed to define the feasibility of the MIDI program for valid hand rehabilitation for people with brain damage.

Three-dimensional viscous fingering of miscible fluids in porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suekane, Tetsuya; Ono, Jei; Hyodo, Akimitsu; Nagatsu, Yuichiro

2017-10-01

Viscous fingering is a flow instability that is induced at the displacement front when a less-viscous fluid (LVF) displaces a more-viscous fluid (MVF). Because of the opaque nature of porous media, most experimental investigations of the structure of viscous fingering and its development in time have been limited to two-dimensional porous media or Hele-Shaw cells. In this study, we investigate the three-dimensional characteristics of viscous fingering in porous media using a microfocused x-ray computer tomography (CT) scanner. Similar to two-dimensional experiments, characteristic events such as tip-splitting, shielding, and coalescence were observed in three-dimensional viscous fingering as well. With an increase in the Péclet number at a fixed viscosity ratio, M , the fingers appearing on the interface tend to be fine; however, the locations of the tips of the fingers remain the same for the same injected volume of the LVF. The finger extensions increase in proportion to ln M , and the number of fingers emerging at the initial interface increases with M . This fact agrees qualitatively with linear stability analyses. Within the fingers, the local concentration of NaI, which is needed for the x-ray CT scanner, linearly decreases, whereas it sharply decreases at the tips of the fingers. A locally high Péclet number as well as unsteady motions in lateral directions may enhance the dispersion at the tips of the fingers. As the viscosity ratio increases, the efficiency of each sweep monotonically decreases and reaches an asymptotic state; in addition, the degree of mixing increases with the viscosity ratio. For high flow rates, the asymptotic value of the sweep efficiency is low for high viscosity ratios, while there is no clear dependence of the asymptotic value on the Péclet number.

Bioaccessibility of polyphenols from selected cereal grains and legumes as influenced by food acidulants.

PubMed

Hithamani, Gavirangappa; Srinivasan, Krishnapura

2017-01-01

Polyphenols in food are valued for their health-beneficial influences. Food acidulants lime juice and amchur used in Indian cookery were evaluated for their influence on polyphenol bioaccessibility from food grains. Lime juice increased bioaccessible flavonoids by 25% in roasted finger millet, while there was no change in total bioaccessible polyphenols in pressure-cooked, open-pan-boiled and roasted finger millet in the presence of food acidulants. Addition of amchur to pressure-cooked and microwave-heated pearl millet increased bioaccessible flavonoids by 30 and 53% respectively, while lime juice increased them by 46% in pressure-cooked pearl millet. Increased bioaccessibility of specific phenolic acids from finger millet and pearl millet was observed upon addition of these food acidulants. The presence of either lime juice or amchur increased bioaccessible flavonoids from both legumes studied. Addition of lime juice and amchur, however, exerted a negative effect on the bioaccessibility of several phenolic compounds from food grains in native state and under certain processing conditions. Thus food acidulants lime juice and amchur had a significant influence on the bioaccessibility of health-beneficial phenolic compounds from food grains. Use of food acidulants in food preparations could be a strategy to enhance the bioavailability of polyphenols, especially flavonoids from grains. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hidden Markov Model and Support Vector Machine based decoding of finger movements using Electrocorticography

PubMed Central

Wissel, Tobias; Pfeiffer, Tim; Frysch, Robert; Knight, Robert T.; Chang, Edward F.; Hinrichs, Hermann; Rieger, Jochem W.; Rose, Georg

2013-01-01

Objective Support Vector Machines (SVM) have developed into a gold standard for accurate classification in Brain-Computer-Interfaces (BCI). The choice of the most appropriate classifier for a particular application depends on several characteristics in addition to decoding accuracy. Here we investigate the implementation of Hidden Markov Models (HMM)for online BCIs and discuss strategies to improve their performance. Approach We compare the SVM, serving as a reference, and HMMs for classifying discrete finger movements obtained from the Electrocorticograms of four subjects doing a finger tapping experiment. The classifier decisions are based on a subset of low-frequency time domain and high gamma oscillation features. Main results We show that decoding optimization between the two approaches is due to the way features are extracted and selected and less dependent on the classifier. An additional gain in HMM performance of up to 6% was obtained by introducing model constraints. Comparable accuracies of up to 90% were achieved with both SVM and HMM with the high gamma cortical response providing the most important decoding information for both techniques. Significance We discuss technical HMM characteristics and adaptations in the context of the presented data as well as for general BCI applications. Our findings suggest that HMMs and their characteristics are promising for efficient online brain-computer interfaces. PMID:24045504

Finger vein verification system based on sparse representation.

PubMed

Xin, Yang; Liu, Zhi; Zhang, Haixia; Zhang, Hong

2012-09-01

Finger vein verification is a promising biometric pattern for personal identification in terms of security and convenience. The recognition performance of this technology heavily relies on the quality of finger vein images and on the recognition algorithm. To achieve efficient recognition performance, a special finger vein imaging device is developed, and a finger vein recognition method based on sparse representation is proposed. The motivation for the proposed method is that finger vein images exhibit a sparse property. In the proposed system, the regions of interest (ROIs) in the finger vein images are segmented and enhanced. Sparse representation and sparsity preserving projection on ROIs are performed to obtain the features. Finally, the features are measured for recognition. An equal error rate of 0.017% was achieved based on the finger vein image database, which contains images that were captured by using the near-IR imaging device that was developed in this study. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is faster and more robust than previous methods.

Pharmacogenetic algorithm for individualized controlled ovarian stimulation (iCOS) in assisted reproductive technology cycles.

PubMed

Roque, Matheus; Bianco, Bianca; Christofolini, Denise M; Cordts, Emerson B; Vilarino, Fabia L; Carvalho, Waldemar; Valle, Marcello; Sampaio, Marcos; Geber, Selmo; Esteves, Sandro C; Barbosa, Caio P

2018-06-14

Controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) is crucial for optimizing in vitro fertilization (IVF) / intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) success. Multiple factors influence the ovarian response to COS, making predictions about oocyte yields not so straightforward. As a result, the ovarian response may be poor or suboptimal, or even excessive, all of which have negative consequences for the affected patient. There is a group of patients that present with a suboptimal response to COS despite normal biomarkers of ovarian reserve, such as AFC and AMH. These patients have a lower number of retrieved oocytes than what was expected based on their ovarian reserve, thus showing the inadequacy of using only the traditional ovarian reserve biomarkers to predict the ovarian response. Suboptimal response to COS might be related to ovarian sensitivity to exogenous gonadotropins modulated by genetic factors. The understanding of the gene polymorphisms related to reproductive function can help to improve the clinical management of this patient population and to explain some of the individual patient variability in response to COS. The development of a pharmacogenetic approach concerning COS in the context of assisted reproduction seems attractive as it might help to understand the relationship between genetic variants and ovarian response to exogenous gonadotropins. The patient ́s genetic profile could be used to select the most appropriate gonadotropin type, predict the optimal dosage for each drug, develop a cost-effective treatment plan, maximize the success rates, and lastly, decrease the time-to-pregnancy.

CAMS as a tool for human factors research in spaceflight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauer, Juergen

2004-01-01

The paper reviews a number of research studies that were carried out with a PC-based task environment called Cabin Air Management System (CAMS) simulating the operation of a spacecraft's life support system. As CAMS was a multiple task environment, it allowed the measurement of performance at different levels. Four task components of different priority were embedded in the task environment: diagnosis and repair of system faults, maintaining atmospheric parameters in a safe state, acknowledgement of system alarms (reaction time), and keeping a record of critical system resources (prospective memory). Furthermore, the task environment permitted the examination of different task management strategies and changes in crew member state (fatigue, anxiety, mental effort). A major goal of the research programme was to examine how crew members adapted to various forms of sub-optimal working conditions, such as isolation and confinement, sleep deprivation and noise. None of the studies provided evidence for decrements in primary task performance. However, the results showed a number of adaptive responses of crew members to adjust to the different sub-optimal working conditions. There was evidence for adjustments in information sampling strategies (usually reductions in sampling frequency) as a result of unfavourable working conditions. The results also showed selected decrements in secondary task performance. Prospective memory seemed to be somewhat more vulnerable to sub-optimal working conditions than performance on the reaction time task. Finally, suggestions are made for future research with the CAMS environment.

Compact Dexterous Robotic Hand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lovchik, Christopher Scott (Inventor); Diftler, Myron A. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

A compact robotic hand includes a palm housing, a wrist section, and a forearm section. The palm housing supports a plurality of fingers and one or more movable palm members that cooperate with the fingers to grasp and/or release an object. Each flexible finger comprises a plurality of hingedly connected segments, including a proximal segment pivotally connected to the palm housing. The proximal finger segment includes at least one groove defining first and second cam surfaces for engagement with a cable. A plurality of lead screw assemblies each carried by the palm housing are supplied with power from a flexible shaft rotated by an actuator and output linear motion to a cable move a finger. The cable is secured within a respective groove and enables each finger to move between an opened and closed position. A decoupling assembly pivotally connected to a proximal finger segment enables a cable connected thereto to control movement of an intermediate and distal finger segment independent of movement of the proximal finger segment. The dexterous robotic hand closely resembles the function of a human hand yet is light weight and capable of grasping both heavy and light objects with a high degree of precision.

Numerical study on tilting salt finger in a laminar shear flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xianfei; Wang, Ling-ling; Lin, Cheng; Zhu, Hai; Zeng, Cheng

2018-02-01

Salt fingers as a mixing mechanism in the ocean have been investigated for several decades, together with a key issue being focused on their convective evolution and flux ratio variation. However, related studies on tilting fingers in the ocean produced by shear flow have been ignored by previous researchers. In this paper, a 2-D numerical model is presented to study the evolution of the double-diffusion salt finger in a two-layer thermohaline system with laminar shear flow. The model is divided into a steady-state solver and double-diffusion convection system, aimed to reveal the effect of shear flow on salt fingers and analyze the mechanism behind the shear and fingers. Several cases are conducted for Re = 0 ˜ 900 to study the evolution of salt fingers in a laminar shear flow and the variation of salt flux with Re. The results show that salt fingers exist and tilt in the presence of laminar shear flow. The mass transport in the vertical direction is weakened as the Reynolds number increases. An asymmetric structure of the salt finger is discovered and accounts for the morphological tilt and salt flux reduction.

Losing dexterity: patterns of impaired coordination of finger movements in musician’s dystonia

PubMed Central

Furuya, Shinichi; Tominaga, Kenta; Miyazaki, Fumio; Altenmüller, Eckart

2015-01-01

Extensive training can bring about highly-skilled action, but may also impair motor dexterity by producing involuntary movements and muscular cramping, as seen in focal dystonia (FD) and tremor. To elucidate the underlying neuroplastic mechanisms of FD, the present study addressed the organization of finger movements during piano performance in pianists suffering from the condition. Principal component (PC) analysis identified three patterns of fundamental joint coordination constituting finger movements in both patients and controls. The first two coordination patterns described less individuated movements between the “dystonic” finger and key-striking fingers for patients compared to controls. The third coordination pattern, representing the individuation of movements between the middle and ring fingers, was evident during a sequence of strikes with these fingers in controls, which was absent in the patients. Consequently, rhythmic variability of keystrokes was more pronounced during this sequence of strikes for the patients. A stepwise multiple-regression analysis further identified greater variability of keystrokes for individuals displaying less individuated movements between the affected and striking fingers. The findings suggest that FD alters dexterous joint coordination so as to lower independent control of finger movements, and thereby degrades fine motor control. PMID:26289433

The effect of an instant hand sanitizer on blood glucose monitoring results.

PubMed

Mahoney, John J; Ellison, John M; Glaeser, Danielle; Price, David

2011-11-01

People with diabetes mellitus are instructed to clean their skin prior to self-monitoring of blood glucose to remove any dirt or food residue that might affect the reading. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have become popular when soap and water are not available. The aim of this study was to determine whether a hand sanitizer is compatible with glucose meter testing and effective for the removal of exogenous glucose. We enrolled 34 nonfasting subjects [14 male/20 female, mean ages 45 (standard deviation, 9.4)] years, 2 with diagnosed diabetes/32 without known diabetes]. Laboratory personnel prepared four separate fingers on one hand of each subject by (1) cleaning the second finger with soap and water and towel drying (i.e., control finger), (2) cleaning the third finger with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, (3) coating the fourth finger with cola and allowing it to air dry, and (4) coating the fifth finger with cola and then cleaning it with the instant hand sanitizer after the cola had dried. Finger sticks were performed on each prepared finger and blood glucose was measured. Several in vitro studies were also performed to investigate the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer for removal of exogenous glucose.z Mean blood glucose values from fingers cleaned with instant hand sanitizer did not differ significantly from the control finger (p = .07 and .08, respectively) and resulted in 100% accurate results. Blood glucose data from the fourth (cola-coated) finger were substantially higher on average compared with the other finger conditions, but glucose data from the fifth finger (cola-coated then cleaned with hand sanitizer) was similar to the control finger. The data from in vitro experiments showed that the hand sanitizer did not adversely affect glucose meter results, but when an exogenous glucose interference was present, the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer on glucose bias (range: 6% to 212%) depended on the surface area and degree of dilution. In our study, use of an instant hand sanitizer was compatible with the results of a blood glucose monitor and did not affect finger stick blood glucose results. However, depending on surface area, hand sanitizers may not be adequate for cleaning the skin prior to glucose meter testing. © 2011 Diabetes Technology Society.

The Effect of an Instant Hand Sanitizer on Blood Glucose Monitoring Results

PubMed Central

Mahoney, John J; Ellison, John M; Glaeser, Danielle; Price, David

2011-01-01

Background People with diabetes mellitus are instructed to clean their skin prior to self-monitoring of blood glucose to remove any dirt or food residue that might affect the reading. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have become popular when soap and water are not available. The aim of this study was to determine whether a hand sanitizer is compatible with glucose meter testing and effective for the removal of exogenous glucose. Methods We enrolled 34 nonfasting subjects [14 male/20 female, mean ages 45 (standard deviation, 9.4)] years, 2 with diagnosed diabetes/32 without known diabetes]. Laboratory personnel prepared four separate fingers on one hand of each subject by (1) cleaning the second finger with soap and water and towel drying (i.e., control finger), (2) cleaning the third finger with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, (3) coating the fourth finger with cola and allowing it to air dry, and (4) coating the fifth finger with cola and then cleaning it with the instant hand sanitizer after the cola had dried. Finger sticks were performed on each prepared finger and blood glucose was measured. Several in vitro studies were also performed to investigate the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer for removal of exogenous glucose.z Results Mean blood glucose values from fingers cleaned with instant hand sanitizer did not differ significantly from the control finger (p = .07 and .08, respectively) and resulted in 100% accurate results. Blood glucose data from the fourth (cola-coated) finger were substantially higher on average compared with the other finger conditions, but glucose data from the fifth finger (cola-coated then cleaned with hand sanitizer) was similar to the control finger. The data from in vitro experiments showed that the hand sanitizer did not adversely affect glucose meter results, but when an exogenous glucose interference was present, the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer on glucose bias (range: 6% to 212%) depended on the surface area and degree of dilution. Conclusions In our study, use of an instant hand sanitizer was compatible with the results of a blood glucose monitor and did not affect finger stick blood glucose results. However, depending on surface area, hand sanitizers may not be adequate for cleaning the skin prior to glucose meter testing. PMID:22226262

Optimisation of strain selection in evolutionary continuous culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayen, T.; Mairet, F.

2017-12-01

In this work, we study a minimal time control problem for a perfectly mixed continuous culture with n ≥ 2 species and one limiting resource. The model that we consider includes a mutation factor for the microorganisms. Our aim is to provide optimal feedback control laws to optimise the selection of the species of interest. Thanks to Pontryagin's Principle, we derive optimality conditions on optimal controls and introduce a sub-optimal control law based on a most rapid approach to a singular arc that depends on the initial condition. Using adaptive dynamics theory, we also study a simplified version of this model which allows to introduce a near optimal strategy.

21 CFR 888.3220 - Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented... metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/polymer..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3230 - Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. 888... SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ORTHOPEDIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 888.3230 Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis is a device intended...

21 CFR 888.3220 - Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented... metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/polymer..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3230 - Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. 888... SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ORTHOPEDIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 888.3230 Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis is a device intended...

21 CFR 888.3220 - Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented... metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/polymer..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3220 - Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented... metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/polymer..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3230 - Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. 888... SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ORTHOPEDIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 888.3230 Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis is a device intended...

21 CFR 888.3220 - Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented... metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/polymer..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3230 - Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. 888... SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ORTHOPEDIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 888.3230 Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis is a device intended...

21 CFR 888.3230 - Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. 888... SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ORTHOPEDIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 888.3230 Finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint polymer constrained prosthesis is a device intended...

Association between finger tapping, attention, memory, and cognitive diagnosis in elderly patients.

PubMed

Rabinowitz, Israel; Lavner, Yizhar

2014-08-01

This study examined the association between spontaneous finger tapping and cognitive function, with a detailed analysis of the two main phases of finger tapping, the touch-phase and the off-phase. 170 elderly patients (83 men, 87 women; M age = 82.1 yr., SD = 6.2) underwent cognitive assessment including the Mini-Mental State Examination, a forward digit span test, and 15 sec. of finger tapping. Results indicated a significant increase in the length and variability of the finger-touch phase among participants with mild cognitive impairment or dementia compared to participants with no cognitive impairment, suggesting a relationship between finger tapping and attention, short-term memory, and cognitive diagnosis. Pattern classification analyses on the finger tapping parameters indicated a specificity of 0.91 and sensitivity of 0.52 for ruling out cognitive impairment.

Equifinality and its violations in a redundant system: multifinger accurate force production

PubMed Central

Wilhelm, Luke; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M.

2013-01-01

We explored a hypothesis that transient perturbations applied to a redundant system result in equifinality in the space of task-related performance variables but not in the space of elemental variables. The subjects pressed with four fingers and produced an accurate constant total force level. The “inverse piano” device was used to lift and lower one of the fingers smoothly. The subjects were instructed “not to intervene voluntarily” with possible force changes. Analysis was performed in spaces of finger forces and finger modes (hypothetical neural commands to fingers) as elemental variables. Lifting a finger led to an increase in its force and a decrease in the forces of the other three fingers; the total force increased. Lowering the finger back led to a drop in the force of the perturbed finger. At the final state, the sum of the variances of finger forces/modes computed across repetitive trials was significantly higher than the variance of the total force/mode. Most variance of the individual finger force/mode changes between the preperturbation and postperturbation states was compatible with constant total force. We conclude that a transient perturbation applied to a redundant system leads to relatively small variance in the task-related performance variable (equifinality), whereas in the space of elemental variables much more variance occurs that does not lead to total force changes. We interpret the results within a general theoretical scheme that incorporates the ideas of hierarchically organized control, control with referent configurations, synergic control, and the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis. PMID:23904497

Single trial discrimination of individual finger movements on one hand: A combined MEG and EEG study☆

PubMed Central

Quandt, F.; Reichert, C.; Hinrichs, H.; Heinze, H.J.; Knight, R.T.; Rieger, J.W.

2012-01-01

It is crucial to understand what brain signals can be decoded from single trials with different recording techniques for the development of Brain-Machine Interfaces. A specific challenge for non-invasive recording methods are activations confined to small spatial areas on the cortex such as the finger representation of one hand. Here we study the information content of single trial brain activity in non-invasive MEG and EEG recordings elicited by finger movements of one hand. We investigate the feasibility of decoding which of four fingers of one hand performed a slight button press. With MEG we demonstrate reliable discrimination of single button presses performed with the thumb, the index, the middle or the little finger (average over all subjects and fingers 57%, best subject 70%, empirical guessing level: 25.1%). EEG decoding performance was less robust (average over all subjects and fingers 43%, best subject 54%, empirical guessing level 25.1%). Spatiotemporal patterns of amplitude variations in the time series provided best information for discriminating finger movements. Non-phase-locked changes of mu and beta oscillations were less predictive. Movement related high gamma oscillations were observed in average induced oscillation amplitudes in the MEG but did not provide sufficient information about the finger's identity in single trials. Importantly, pre-movement neuronal activity provided information about the preparation of the movement of a specific finger. Our study demonstrates the potential of non-invasive MEG to provide informative features for individual finger control in a Brain-Machine Interface neuroprosthesis. PMID:22155040

Interaction of finger enslaving and error compensation in multiple finger force production.

PubMed

Martin, Joel R; Latash, Mark L; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M

2009-01-01

Previous studies have documented two patterns of finger interaction during multi-finger pressing tasks, enslaving and error compensation, which do not agree with each other. Enslaving is characterized by positive correlation between instructed (master) and non-instructed (slave) finger(s) while error compensation can be described as a pattern of negative correlation between master and slave fingers. We hypothesize that pattern of finger interaction, enslaving or compensation depends on the initial force level and the magnitude of the targeted force change. Subjects were instructed to press with four fingers (I index, M middle, R ring, and L little) from a specified initial force to target forces following a ramp target line. Force-force relations between master and each of three slave fingers were analyzed during the ramp phase of trials by calculating correlation coefficients within each master-slave pair and then two-factor ANOVA was performed to determine effect of initial force and force increase on the correlation coefficients. It was found that, as initial force increased, the value of the correlation coefficient decreased and in some cases became negative, i.e. the enslaving transformed into error compensation. Force increase magnitude had a smaller effect on the correlation coefficients. The observations support the hypothesis that the pattern of inter-finger interaction--enslaving or compensation--depends on the initial force level and, to a smaller degree, on the targeted magnitude of the force increase. They suggest that the controller views tasks with higher steady-state forces and smaller force changes as implying a requirement to avoid large changes in the total force.

Two families with MYH7 distal myopathy associated with cardiomyopathy and core formations.

PubMed

Naddaf, Elie; Waclawik, Andrew J

2015-03-01

Laing distal myopathy is caused by MYH7 gene mutations. Multiple families have been reported with varying patterns of skeletal and cardiac involvement as well as histopathological findings. We report 2 families with p.Glu1508del mutation with detailed electrophysiological and muscle pathology findings. All patients displayed the classic phenotype with weakness starting in the anterior compartment of the legs with a "hanging great toe." It was followed by finger extensors involvement, relatively sparing the extensor indicis proprius, giving the appearance of a "pointing index" finger. All the affected individuals had a dilated cardiomyopathy and core formations on muscle biopsy. Unexpectedly, neurogenic changes were also observed in some individuals. Both families were initially misdiagnosed with either central core disease or hereditary neuropathy. Recognizing the classic phenotype, screening for cardiac involvement that may be clinically silent, and determining the mode of inheritance help with selecting the appropriate genetic test.

Fingerprint recognition system by use of graph matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Wei; Shen, Jun; Zheng, Huicheng

2001-09-01

Fingerprint recognition is an important subject in biometrics to identify or verify persons by physiological characteristics, and has found wide applications in different domains. In the present paper, we present a finger recognition system that combines singular points and structures. The principal steps of processing in our system are: preprocessing and ridge segmentation, singular point extraction and selection, graph representation, and finger recognition by graphs matching. Our fingerprint recognition system is implemented and tested for many fingerprint images and the experimental result are satisfactory. Different techniques are used in our system, such as fast calculation of orientation field, local fuzzy dynamical thresholding, algebraic analysis of connections and fingerprints representation and matching by graphs. Wed find that for fingerprint database that is not very large, the recognition rate is very high even without using a prior coarse category classification. This system works well for both one-to-few and one-to-many problems.

Improved ethanol production at high temperature by consolidated bioprocessing using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain engineered with artificial zinc finger protein.

PubMed

Khatun, M Mahfuza; Yu, Xinshui; Kondo, Akihiko; Bai, Fengwu; Zhao, Xinqing

2017-12-01

In this work, the consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae MNII/cocδBEC3 was transformed by an artificial zinc finger protein (AZFP) library to improve its thermal tolerance, and the strain MNII-AZFP with superior growth at 42°C was selected. Improved degradation of acid swollen cellulose by 45.9% led to an increase in ethanol production, when compared to the control strain. Moreover, the fermentation of Jerusalem artichoke stalk (JAS) by MNII-AZFP was shortened by 12h at 42°C with a concomitant improvement in ethanol production. Comparative transcriptomics analysis suggested that the AZFP in the mutant exerted beneficial effect by modulating the expression of multiple functional genes. These results provide a feasible strategy for efficient ethanol production from JAS and other cellulosic biomass through CBP based-fermentation at elevated temperatures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elevated levels of psychophysiological arousal and cortisol in patients with somatization syndrome.

PubMed

Rief, W; Shaw, R; Fichter, M M

1998-01-01

This study investigates psychological and psychobiological processes in patients with somatization syndrome. We compared physiological measures (heart rate, finger pulse volume, electrodermal activity, electromyography), cortisol levels, and subjective well-being during rest and during a mental stress task as well as selective attention and memory for illness-related words in 58 patients with somatization syndrome and 21 healthy controls. The somatization group had higher morning salivary cortisol concentrations, higher heart rates, and lower levels of finger pulse volume. During the mental stress task, patients with somatization syndrome felt more distressed and had higher heart rates, whereas controls showed habituation to the experimental situation. We were unable to demonstrate an attention or memory bias specific for somatization. The results point to several psychological, psychophysiological, and psychobiological mechanisms that might be involved in the maintenance of somatization syndrome. These results are discussed from a cognitive-psychobiological perspective.

Site-Specific Editing of the Plasmodium falciparum Genome Using Engineered Zinc-Finger Nucleases

PubMed Central

Straimer, Judith; Lee, Marcus CS; Lee, Andrew H; Zeitler, Bryan; Williams, April E; Pearl, Jocelynn R; Zhang, Lei; Rebar, Edward J; Gregory, Philip D; Llinás, Manuel; Urnov, Fyodor D; Fidock, David A

2013-01-01

Malaria afflicts over 200 million people worldwide and its most lethal etiologic agent, Plasmodium falciparum, is evolving to resist even the latest-generation therapeutics. Efficient tools for genome-directed investigations of P. falciparum pathogenesis, including drug resistance mechanisms, are clearly required. Here we report rapid and targeted genetic engineering of this parasite, using zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) that produce a double-strand break in a user-defined locus and trigger homology-directed repair. Targeting an integrated egfp locus, we obtained gene deletion parasites with unprecedented speed (two weeks), both with and without direct selection. ZFNs engineered against the endogenous parasite gene pfcrt, responsible for chloroquine treatment escape, rapidly produced parasites that carried either an allelic replacement or a panel of specified point mutations. The efficiency, versatility and precision of this method will enable a diverse array of genome editing approaches to interrogate this human pathogen. PMID:22922501

Wavelength selection in injection-driven Hele-Shaw flows: A maximum amplitude criterion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dias, Eduardo; Miranda, Jose

2013-11-01

As in most interfacial flow problems, the standard theoretical procedure to establish wavelength selection in the viscous fingering instability is to maximize the linear growth rate. However, there are important discrepancies between previous theoretical predictions and existing experimental data. In this work we perform a linear stability analysis of the radial Hele-Shaw flow system that takes into account the combined action of viscous normal stresses and wetting effects. Most importantly, we introduce an alternative selection criterion for which the selected wavelength is determined by the maximum of the interfacial perturbation amplitude. The effectiveness of such a criterion is substantiated by the significantly improved agreement between theory and experiments. We thank CNPq (Brazilian Sponsor) for financial support.

A pilot study to assess use of passive extension bias to facilitate finger movement for repetitive task practice after stroke.

PubMed

Iwamuro, B T; Fischer, H C; Kamper, D G

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether active range of finger motion could be increased through the introduction of passive, external extension joint torques in stroke survivors. Five chronic stroke survivors with severe hand impairment resulting from hemiparesis took part in the study. Participants completed 2 experimental sessions in which hand movement and function were assessed. In one session, they wore a custom orthotic glove (X-Glove) that passively supplied extension torques to the joints of the fingers. In the second session, they performed the same tasks as in the other session, but without the glove. Outcome measures consisted of active range of motion, distance of the fingertip from the hand, selected tasks from the Graded Wolf Motor Function Test (GWMFT), and the Box and Blocks (BB) test. Primary results with and without the glove were compared using paired t tests with a Bonferroni correction. Active range of motion improved significantly by over 50%, from 4.4 cm to 6.7 cm, when the X-Glove was worn (P = .011). The distance of the fingertip from the metacarpophalangeal joint increased by an average of 2.2 cm for 4 of the subjects, although this change was not significant across all 5 subjects (P = .123). No significant differences were observed in the BB or GWMFT whether the X-Glove was worn or not. Introduction of passive extension torque can improve active range of motion for the fingers, even in chronic stroke survivors with substantial hand impairment. The increased range of motion would facilitate therapeutic training of the hand, potentially even in the home environment, although the bulk of the orthosis should be minimized to facilitate interactions with real objects.

Patients' experiences of cold exposure during ambulance care.

PubMed

Aléx, Jonas; Karlsson, Stig; Saveman, Britt-Inger

2013-06-06

Exposure to cold temperatures is often a neglected problem in prehospital care. Cold exposure increase thermal discomfort and, if untreated causes disturbances of vital body functions until ultimately reaching hypothermia. It may also impair cognitive function, increase pain and contribute to fear and an overall sense of dissatisfaction. The aim of this study was to investigate injured and ill patients' experiences of cold exposure and to identify related factors. During January to March 2011, 62 consecutively selected patients were observed when they were cared for by ambulance nursing staff in prehospital care in the north of Sweden. The field study was based on observations, questions about thermal discomfort and temperature measurements (mattress air and patients' finger temperature). Based on the observation protocol the participants were divided into two groups, one group that stated it was cold in the patient compartment in the ambulance and another group that did not. Continuous variables were analyzed with independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test and dichotomous variables with cross tabulation. In the ambulance 85% of the patients had a finger temperature below comfort zone and 44% experienced the ambient temperature in the patient compartment in the ambulance to be cold. There was a significant decrease in finger temperature from the first measurement indoor compared to measurement in the ambulance. The mattress temperature at the ambulance ranged from -22.3°C to 8.4°C. Cold exposure in winter time is common in prehospital care. Sick and injured patients immediately react to cold exposure with decreasing finger temperature and experience of discomfort from cold. Keeping the patient in the comfort zone is of great importance. Further studies are needed to increase knowledge which can be a base for implications in prehospital care for patients who probably already suffer for other reasons.

The effect of music on biochemical markers and self-perceived stress among first-line nurses: a randomized controlled crossover trial.

PubMed

Lai, Hui-Ling; Li, Yin-Ming

2011-11-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of music on stress indices and to examine the association between music preference and stress. Although clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of music on stress, study results have been inconsistent. At the time of writing, no known publications had investigated the effects of preferred music on workers in high-stress professions such as nursing. Using a randomized crossover controlled trial, 54 nurses were randomly assigned to a music/chair rest sequence or chair rest/music sequence during the period February to June 2006. Each intervention lasted for 30 minutes. Participants in the music condition listened to self-selected soothing music using headphones for 30 minutes. In the chair rest condition, participants sat quietly for 30 minutes. Serial measurements of participants' heart rate, mean arterial pressure, finger temperature and cortisol levels were taken with a BP monitor and chemillumincent immunoassay every 15 minutes throughout the procedure. Compared with chair rest, participants had a lower perceived stress level, cortisol, heart rate, mean arterial pressure and higher finger temperature while listening to music (P < 0·05). Significant differences were also found between the two conditions in terms of post-test heart rate, cortisol levels, finger temperature and mean arterial pressure (P < 0·05). Music preference scores ranged between 7 and 10, with a mean score of 8·81 (sd = 1·05), and was significantly associated with mean arterial pressure, cortisol levels, self-perceived stress and finger temperature. The findings provided evidence for nurses to use soothing music as a research-based nursing intervention for stress reduction. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Evaluation of user input methods for manipulating a tablet personal computer in sterile techniques.

PubMed

Yamada, Akira; Komatsu, Daisuke; Suzuki, Takeshi; Kurozumi, Masahiro; Fujinaga, Yasunari; Ueda, Kazuhiko; Kadoya, Masumi

2017-02-01

To determine a quick and accurate user input method for manipulating tablet personal computers (PCs) in sterile techniques. We evaluated three different manipulation methods, (1) Computer mouse and sterile system drape, (2) Fingers and sterile system drape, and (3) Digitizer stylus and sterile ultrasound probe cover with a pinhole, in terms of the central processing unit (CPU) performance, manipulation performance, and contactlessness. A significant decrease in CPU score ([Formula: see text]) and an increase in CPU temperature ([Formula: see text]) were observed when a system drape was used. The respective mean times taken to select a target image from an image series (ST) and the mean times for measuring points on an image (MT) were [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] s for the computer mouse method, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] s for the finger method, and [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] s for the digitizer stylus method, respectively. The ST for the finger method was significantly longer than for the digitizer stylus method ([Formula: see text]). The MT for the computer mouse method was significantly longer than for the digitizer stylus method ([Formula: see text]). The mean success rate for measuring points on an image was significantly lower for the finger method when the diameter of the target was equal to or smaller than 8 mm than for the other methods. No significant difference in the adenosine triphosphate amount at the surface of the tablet PC was observed before, during, or after manipulation via the digitizer stylus method while wearing starch-powdered sterile gloves ([Formula: see text]). Quick and accurate manipulation of tablet PCs in sterile techniques without CPU load is feasible using a digitizer stylus and sterile ultrasound probe cover with a pinhole.

Specific Inhibition of the transcription factor Ci by a Cobalt(III)-Schiff base-DNA conjugate

PubMed Central

Hurtado, Ryan R.; Harney, Allison S.; Heffern, Marie C.; Holbrook, Robert J.; Holmgren, Robert A.; Meade, Thomas J.

2012-01-01

We describe the use of Co(III) Schiff base-DNA conjugates, a versatile class of research tools that target C2H2 transcription factors, to inhibit the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. In developing mammalian embryos, Hh signaling is critical for the formation and development of many tissues and organs. Inappropriate activation of the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway has been implicated in a variety of cancers including medulloblastomas and basal cell carcinomas. It is well known that Hh regulates the activity of the Gli family of C2H2 zinc finger transcription factors in mammals. In Drosophila the function of the Gli proteins is performed by a single transcription factor with an identical DNA binding consensus sequence, Cubitus Interruptus (Ci). We have demonstrated previously that conjugation of a specific 17 base-pair oligonucleotide to a Co(III) Schiff base complex results in a targeted inhibitor of the Snail family C2H2 zinc finger transcription factors. Modification of the oligonucleotide sequence in the Co(III) Schiff base-DNA conjugate to that of Ci’s consensus sequence (Co(III)-Ci) generates an equally selective inhibitor of Ci. Co(III)-Ci irreversibly binds the Ci zinc finger domain and prevents it from binding DNA in vitro. In a Ci responsive tissue culture reporter gene assay, Co(III)-Ci reduces the transcriptional activity of Ci in a concentration dependent manner. In addition, injection of wild-type Drosophila embryos with Co(III)-Ci phenocopies a Ci loss of function phenotype, demonstrating effectiveness in vivo. This study provides evidence that Co(III) Schiff base-DNA conjugates are a versatile class of specific and potent tools for studying zinc finger domain proteins and have potential applications as customizable anti-cancer therapeutics. PMID:22214326

Nickel accumulation and its effect on growth, physiological and biochemical parameters in millets and oats.

PubMed

Gupta, Vibha; Jatav, Pradeep Kumar; Verma, Raini; Kothari, Shanker Lal; Kachhwaha, Sumita

2017-10-01

With the boom in industrialization, there is an increase in the level of heavy metals in the soil which drastically affect the growth and development of plants. Nickel is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and development, but elevated level of Ni causes stunted growth, chlorosis, nutrient imbalance, and alterations in the defense mechanism of plants in terms of accumulation of osmolytes or change in enzyme activities like guiacol peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Ni-induced toxic response was studied in seedlings of finger millet, pearl millet, and oats in terms of seedling growth, lipid peroxidation, total chlorophyll, proline content, and enzymatic activities. On the basis of germination and growth parameters of the seedling, finger millet was found to be the most tolerant. Nickel accumulation was markedly lower in the shoots as compared to the roots, which was the highest in finger millet and the lowest in shoots of oats. Plants treated with a high concentration of Ni showed significant reduction in chlorophyll and increase in proline content. Considerable difference in level of malondialdehyde (MDA) content and activity of antioxidative enzymes indicates generation of redox imbalance in plants due to Ni-induced stress. Elevated activities of POD and SOD were observed with high concentrations of Ni while CAT activity was found to be reduced. It was observed that finger millet has higher capability to maintain homeostasis by keeping the balance between accumulation and ROS scavenging system than pearl millet and oats. The data provide insight into the physiological and biochemical changes in plants adapted to survive in Ni-rich environment. This study will help in selecting the more suitable crop species to be grown on Ni-rich soils.

21 CFR 888.3210 - Finger joint metal/metal constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Finger joint metal/metal constrained cemented... metal/metal constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/metal constrained..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/metal constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3210 - Finger joint metal/metal constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Finger joint metal/metal constrained cemented... metal/metal constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/metal constrained..., 1996 for any finger joint metal/metal constrained cemented prosthesis that was in commercial...

21 CFR 888.3200 - Finger joint metal/metal constrained uncemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Finger joint metal/metal constrained uncemented... metal/metal constrained uncemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/metal... Administration on or before December 26, 1996 for any finger joint metal/metal constrained uncemented prosthesis...

21 CFR 888.3200 - Finger joint metal/metal constrained uncemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Finger joint metal/metal constrained uncemented... metal/metal constrained uncemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A finger joint metal/metal... Administration on or before December 26, 1996 for any finger joint metal/metal constrained uncemented prosthesis...

Agility, gnosis, and graphaesthesia for the toes and fingers in children: normative data (ages 7-14 years).

PubMed

Richards, P M; Persinger, M A

2004-01-01

The differential representation of the toes/feet and fingers/hands along the medial and lateral surfaces of the cerebral cortices, respectively, may have diagnostic utility. Normative data for errors for toe and finger graphaesthesia and gnosis, as well as foot and finger agility, were collected for 86 children (ages 7 to 14). The fingers were more agile than the feet, and the right side of the body was more agile than the left side, regardless of age. A marked improvement in toe gnosis, but not in finger gnosis occurred in children after 11-12 years of age. A statistically significant interaction between laterality and gender was due to the greater numbers of errors for both toe and finger gnosis, displayed by girls for the left sides of their bodies compared to their right sides. This discrepancy was not significant for boys.

Finger vein recognition based on finger crease location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Zhiying; Ding, Shumeng; Yin, Jing

2016-07-01

Finger vein recognition technology has significant advantages over other methods in terms of accuracy, uniqueness, and stability, and it has wide promising applications in the field of biometric recognition. We propose using finger creases to locate and extract an object region. Then we use linear fitting to overcome the problem of finger rotation in the plane. The method of modular adaptive histogram equalization (MAHE) is presented to enhance image contrast and reduce computational cost. To extract the finger vein features, we use a fusion method, which can obtain clear and distinguishable vein patterns under different conditions. We used the Hausdorff average distance algorithm to examine the recognition performance of the system. The experimental results demonstrate that MAHE can better balance the recognition accuracy and the expenditure of time compared with three other methods. Our resulting equal error rate throughout the total procedure was 3.268% in a database of 153 finger vein images.

76 FR 77769 - North Finger Grazing Authorization Project, Malheur National Forest, Grant County, OR

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-14

... allotments within the North Finger Landscape. These allotments are within the Upper Deer Creek, Basin Creek... is to authorize grazing on all or portions of the North Finger landscape in such a manner that will... incorporating adaptive management strategies across the North Finger landscape. Adaptive Management is defined...

Ergonomics Designs of Aluminum Beverage Cans & Bottles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jing; Itoh, Ryouiti; Yamazaki, Koetsu; Nishiyama, Sadao; Shinguryo, Takuro

2005-08-01

This paper introduced the finite element analyses into the ergonomics designs to evaluate the human feelings numerically and objectively. Two design examples in developing aluminum beverage cans & bottles are presented. The first example describes a design of the tab of the can with better finger access. A simulation of finger pulling up the tab of the can has been performed and a pain in the finger has been evaluated by using the maximum value of the contact stress of a finger model. The finger access comparison of three kinds of tab ring shape designs showed that the finger access of the tab that may have a larger contact area with finger is better. The second example describes a design of rib-shape embossed bottles for hot vending. Analyses of tactile sensation of heat have been performed and the amount of heat transmitted from hot bottles to finger was used to present the hot touch feeling. Comparison results showed that the hot touch feeling of rib-shape embossed bottles is better than that of cylindrical bottles, and that the shape of the rib also influenced the hot touch feeling.

Finger gnosis predicts a unique but small part of variance in initial arithmetic performance.

PubMed

Wasner, Mirjam; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph; Martignon, Laura; Roesch, Stephanie; Moeller, Korbinian

2016-06-01

Recent studies indicated that finger gnosis (i.e., the ability to perceive and differentiate one's own fingers) is associated reliably with basic numerical competencies. In this study, we aimed at examining whether finger gnosis is also a unique predictor for initial arithmetic competencies at the beginning of first grade-and thus before formal math instruction starts. Therefore, we controlled for influences of domain-specific numerical precursor competencies, domain-general cognitive ability, and natural variables such as gender and age. Results from 321 German first-graders revealed that finger gnosis indeed predicted a unique and relevant but nevertheless only small part of the variance in initial arithmetic performance (∼1%-2%) as compared with influences of general cognitive ability and numerical precursor competencies. Taken together, these results substantiated the notion of a unique association between finger gnosis and arithmetic and further corroborate the theoretical idea of finger-based representations contributing to numerical cognition. However, the only small part of variance explained by finger gnosis seems to limit its relevance for diagnostic purposes. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Recognition of finger flexion motion from ultrasound image: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Shi, Jun; Guo, Jing-Yi; Hu, Shu-Xian; Zheng, Yong-Ping

2012-10-01

Muscle contraction results in structural and morphologic changes of the related muscle. Therefore, finger flexion can be monitored from measurements of these morphologic changes. We used ultrasound imaging to record muscle activities during finger flexion and extracted features to discriminate different fingers' flexions using a support vector machine (SVM). Registration of ultrasound images before and after finger flexion was performed to generate a deformation field, from which angle features and wavelet-based features were extracted. The SVM was then used to classify the motions of different fingers. The experimental results showed that the overall mean recognition accuracy was 94.05% ± 4.10%, with the highest for the thumb (97%) and the lowest for the ring finger (92%) and the mean F value was 0.94 ± 0.02, indicating high accuracy and reliability of this method. The results suggest that the proposed method has the potential to be used as an alternative method of surface electromyography in differentiating the motions of different fingers. Copyright © 2012 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Finger length ratio (2D:4D) correlates with physical aggression in men but not in women.

PubMed

Bailey, Allison A; Hurd, Peter L

2005-03-01

Finger length ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait. Men have relatively shorter second digits (index fingers) than fourth digits (ring fingers). Smaller, more masculine, digit ratios are thought to be associated with either higher prenatal testosterone levels or greater sensitivity to androgens, or both. Men with more masculine finger ratios are perceived as being more masculine and dominant by female observers, and tend to perform better in a number of physical sports. We hypothesized that digit ratio would correlate with propensity to engage in aggressive behavior. We examined the relationship between trait aggression, assayed using a questionnaire, and finger length ratio in both men and women. Men with lower, more masculine, finger length ratios had higher trait physical aggression scores (r(partial) = -0.21, N = 134, P = 0.028). We found no correlation between finger length ratio and any form of aggression in females. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone has an organizational effect on adult physical aggression in men.

Design of a Variable Stiffness Soft Dexterous Gripper

PubMed Central

Nefti-Meziani, Samia; Davis, Steve

2017-01-01

Abstract This article presents the design of a variable stiffness, soft, three-fingered dexterous gripper. The gripper uses two designs of McKibben muscles. Extensor muscles that increase in length when pressurized are used to form the fingers of the gripper. Contractor muscles that decrease in length when pressurized are then used to apply forces to the fingers through tendons, which cause flexion and extension of the fingers. The two types of muscles are arranged to act antagonistically and this means that by raising the pressure in all of the pneumatic muscles, the stiffness of the system can be increased without a resulting change in finger position. The article presents the design of the gripper, some basic kinematics to describe its function, and then experimental results demonstrating the ability to adjust the bending stiffness of the gripper's fingers. It has been demonstrated that the fingers' bending stiffness can be increased by more than 150%. The article concludes by demonstrating that the fingers can be closed loop position controlled and are able to track step and sinusoidal inputs. PMID:29062630

Finger millet (Ragi, Eleusine coracana L.): a review of its nutritional properties, processing, and plausible health benefits.

PubMed

Shobana, S; Krishnaswamy, K; Sudha, V; Malleshi, N G; Anjana, R M; Palaniappan, L; Mohan, V

2013-01-01

Finger millet or ragi is one of the ancient millets in India (2300 BC), and this review focuses on its antiquity, consumption, nutrient composition, processing, and health benefits. Of all the cereals and millets, finger millet has the highest amount of calcium (344mg%) and potassium (408mg%). It has higher dietary fiber, minerals, and sulfur containing amino acids compared to white rice, the current major staple in India. Despite finger millet's rich nutrient profile, recent studies indicate lower consumption of millets in general by urban Indians. Finger millet is processed by milling, malting, fermentation, popping, and decortication. Noodles, vermicilli, pasta, Indian sweet (halwa) mixes, papads, soups, and bakery products from finger millet are also emerging. In vitro and in vivo (animal) studies indicated the blood glucose lowering, cholesterol lowering, antiulcerative, wound healing properties, etc., of finger millet. However, appropriate intervention or randomized clinical trials are lacking on these health effects. Glycemic index (GI) studies on finger millet preparations indicate low to high values, but most of the studies were conducted with outdated methodology. Hence, appropriate GI testing of finger millet preparations and short- and long-term human intervention trials may be helpful to establish evidence-based health benefits. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Finger impedance evaluation by means of hand exoskeleton.

PubMed

Fiorilla, Angelo Emanuele; Nori, Francesco; Masia, Lorenzo; Sandini, Giulio

2011-12-01

Modulation of arm mechanical impedance is a fundamental aspect for interaction with the external environment and its regulation is essential for stability preservation during manipulation. Even though past research on human arm movements has suggested that models of human finger impedance would benefit the study of neural control mechanisms and the design of novel hand prostheses, relatively few studies have focused on finger and hand impedance. This article touches on the two main aspects of this research topic: first it introduces a mechanical refinement of a device that can be used to effectively measure finger impedance during manipulation tasks; then, it describes a pilot study aimed at identifying the inertia of the finger and the viscous and elastic properties of finger muscles. The proposed wearable exoskeleton, which has been designed to measure finger posture and impedance modulation while leaving the palm free, is capable of applying fast displacements while monitoring the interaction forces between the human finger and the robotic links. Moreover, due to the relatively small inertia of the fingers, it allows us to meet some stringent specifications, performing relatively large displacements (~45°) before the stretch reflex intervenes (~25 ms). The results of measurements on five subjects show that inertia, damping, and stiffness can be effectively identified and that the parameters obtained are comparable with values from previous studies.

Comparative functional MRI study to assess brain activation upon active and passive finger movements in patients with cerebral infarction.

PubMed

Fu, Yue; Zhang, Quan; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Yun Ting

2015-01-01

To compare the effects of active and passive movements on brain activation in patients with cerebral infarction using fMRI. Twenty-four hemiplegic patients with cerebral infarction were evaluated using fMRI. All patients performed active and passive finger opposition movements. Patients were instructed to perform the finger opposition movement for the active movement task. For the passive movement task, the subject's fingers were moved by the examiner to perform the finger opposition movement. Statistical parametric mapping software was used for statistical analyses and to process all data. In the affected hemisphere, sensorimotor cortex (SMC) activation intensity and range were significantly stronger during the passive movement of the affected fingers compared to the active movement of the affected fingers (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences between active and passive movements of unaffected fingers in SMC activation intensity and range in the unaffected hemisphere (p > 0.05). In addition, the passive movement activated many other regions of the brain. The brain regions activated by passive movements of the affected fingers tended to center toward the contralateral SMC. Our findings suggest that passive movements induce cortical reorganization in patients with cerebral infarction. Therefore, passive movement is likely beneficial for motor function recovery in patients with cerebral infarction.

Adaptive suboptimal second-order sliding mode control for microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Incremona, Gian Paolo; Cucuzzella, Michele; Ferrara, Antonella

2016-09-01

This paper deals with the design of adaptive suboptimal second-order sliding mode (ASSOSM) control laws for grid-connected microgrids. Due to the presence of the inverter, of unpredicted load changes, of switching among different renewable energy sources, and of electrical parameters variations, the microgrid model is usually affected by uncertain terms which are bounded, but with unknown upper bounds. To theoretically frame the control problem, the class of second-order systems in Brunovsky canonical form, characterised by the presence of matched uncertain terms with unknown bounds, is first considered. Four adaptive strategies are designed, analysed and compared to select the most effective ones to be applied to the microgrid case study. In the first two strategies, the control amplitude is continuously adjusted, so as to arrive at dominating the effect of the uncertainty on the controlled system. When a suitable control amplitude is attained, the origin of the state space of the auxiliary system becomes attractive. In the other two strategies, a suitable blend between two components, one mainly working during the reaching phase, the other being the predominant one in a vicinity of the sliding manifold, is generated, so as to reduce the control amplitude in steady state. The microgrid system in a grid-connected operation mode, controlled via the selected ASSOSM control strategies, exhibits appreciable stability properties, as proved theoretically and shown in simulation.

Prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and occupational risk factors among professional cooks: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Nagasu, Miwako; Sakai, Kazuhiro; Kogi, Kazutaka; Ito, Akiyoshi; Feskens, Edith J M; Tomita, Shigeru; Temmyo, Yoshiomi; Ueno, Mitsuo; Miyagi, Shigeji

2011-05-26

Previous studies have pointed out that the school lunch workers in Japan are suffering from work-related disorders including finger deformations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and the association with job-related risk factors. A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 5,719 subjects (response rate: 81%, 982 men and 4,737 women) was undertaken during September 2003 to February 2004. Finger deformations were found among 11.7% of the men and 35.6% of the women studied, with significant differences among sex, age and sex-age groups. For both men and women the pattern of finger deformations across the hand was similar for the right and the left hand. For women, the deformations were found in about 10% of the distal interphalangeal joints of all fingers. Based on multiple logistic regression analyses, the factors female sex, age, the number of cooked lunches per cook and cooking activities were independently associated with the prevalence of finger deformations. High prevalence odds ratios were found for those frequently carrying or using tools by hands such as delivering containers, distributing meals, preparing dishes, washing equipment, cutting and stirring foods. Among the school lunch workers studied, women had a higher prevalence of finger deformations on all joints of both hands. Various cooking tasks were associated with the prevalence of finger deformations. The results suggest that improvements in working conditions are important for preventing work-related disorders such as finger deformations.

Is the thumb a fifth finger? A study of digit interaction during force production tasks

PubMed Central

Olafsdottir, Halla; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M.; Latash, Mark L.

2010-01-01

We studied indices of digit interaction in single- and multi-digit maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) tests when the thumb acted either in parallel or in opposition to the fingers. The peak force produced by the thumb was much higher when the thumb acted in opposition to the fingers and its share of the total force in the five-digit MVC test increased dramatically. The fingers showed relatively similar peak forces and unchanged sharing patterns in the four-finger MVC task when the thumb acted in parallel and in opposition to the fingers. Enslaving during one-digit tasks showed relatively mild differences between the two conditions, while the differences became large when enslaving was quantified for multi-digit tasks. Force deficit was pronounced when the thumb acted in parallel to the fingers; it showed a monotonic increase with the number of explicitly involved digits up to four digits and then a drop when all five digits were involved. Force deficit all but disappeared when the thumb acted in opposition to the fingers. However, for both thumb positions, indices of digit interaction were similar for groups of digits that did or did not include the thumb. These results suggest that, given a certain hand configuration, the central nervous system treats the thumb as a fifth finger. They provide strong support for the hypothesis that indices of digit interaction reflect neural factors, not the peripheral design of the hand. An earlier formal model was able to account for the data when the thumb acted in parallel to the fingers. However, it failed for the data with the thumb acting in opposition to the fingers. PMID:15322785

Multi-Finger Interaction and Synergies in Finger Flexion and Extension Force Production

PubMed Central

Park, Jaebum; Xu, Dayuan

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to discover finger interaction indices during single-finger ramp tasks and multi-finger coordination during a steady state force production in two directions, flexion, and extension. Furthermore, the indices of anticipatory adjustment of elemental variables (i.e., finger forces) prior to a quick pulse force production were quantified. It is currently unknown whether the organization and anticipatory modulation of stability properties are affected by force directions and strengths of in multi-finger actions. We expected to observe a smaller finger independency and larger indices of multi-finger coordination during extension than during flexion due to both neural and peripheral differences between the finger flexion and extension actions. We also examined the indices of the anticipatory adjustment between different force direction conditions. The anticipatory adjustment could be a neural process, which may be affected by the properties of the muscles and by the direction of the motions. The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force was larger for flexion than for extension, which confirmed the fact that the strength of finger flexor muscles (e.g., flexor digitorum profundus) was larger than that of finger extensor (e.g., extensor digitorum). The analysis within the uncontrolled manifold (UCM) hypothesis was used to quantify the motor synergy of elemental variables by decomposing two sources of variances across repetitive trials, which identifies the variances in the uncontrolled manifold (VUCM) and that are orthogonal to the UCM (VORT). The presence of motor synergy and its strength were quantified by the relative amount of VUCM and VORT. The strength of motor synergies at the steady state was larger in the extension condition, which suggests that the stability property (i.e., multi-finger synergies) may be a direction specific quantity. However, the results for the existence of anticipatory adjustment; however, no difference between the directional conditions suggests that feed-forward synergy adjustment (changes in the stability property) may be at least independent of the magnitude of the task-specific apparent performance variables and its direction (e.g., flexion and extension forces). PMID:28674489

Wire perturbations in the Staffman-Taylor problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, D. C.

1988-01-01

Zocchi et al. (1987) discovered that when two wires are symmetrically placed along the center of a Hele-Shaw cell, symmetric but narrow fingers of dimensionless width lambda less than 0.5 develop. The value of lambda decreases as the pushing velocity increases, but at a certain critical finger width the finger suddenly undergoes a transition to the asymmetrical state. A simple theory to predict this critical finger width as a function of D, the dimensionless distance between two wires is developed by assuming that the finger opens up a negative angle at the contact point.

Building intelligent communication systems for handicapped aphasiacs.

PubMed

Fu, Yu-Fen; Ho, Cheng-Seen

2010-01-01

This paper presents an intelligent system allowing handicapped aphasiacs to perform basic communication tasks. It has the following three key features: (1) A 6-sensor data glove measures the finger gestures of a patient in terms of the bending degrees of his fingers. (2) A finger language recognition subsystem recognizes language components from the finger gestures. It employs multiple regression analysis to automatically extract proper finger features so that the recognition model can be fast and correctly constructed by a radial basis function neural network. (3) A coordinate-indexed virtual keyboard allows the users to directly access the letters on the keyboard at a practical speed. The system serves as a viable tool for natural and affordable communication for handicapped aphasiacs through continuous finger language input.

Optimization of MLS receivers for multipath environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcalpine, G. A.; Highfill, J. H., III; Tzeng, C. P. J.; Koleyni, G.

1978-01-01

Reduced order receiver (suboptimal receiver) analysis in multipath environments is presented. The origin and objective of MLS is described briefly. Signal modeling in MLS the optimum receiver is also included and a description of a computer oriented technique which was used in the simulation study of the suboptimal receiver is provided. Results and conclusion obtained from the research for the suboptimal receiver are reported.

Robust Neighboring Optimal Guidance for the Advanced Launch System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hull, David G.

1993-01-01

In recent years, optimization has become an engineering tool through the availability of numerous successful nonlinear programming codes. Optimal control problems are converted into parameter optimization (nonlinear programming) problems by assuming the control to be piecewise linear, making the unknowns the nodes or junction points of the linear control segments. Once the optimal piecewise linear control (suboptimal) control is known, a guidance law for operating near the suboptimal path is the neighboring optimal piecewise linear control (neighboring suboptimal control). Research conducted under this grant has been directed toward the investigation of neighboring suboptimal control as a guidance scheme for an advanced launch system.

Prevalence and Determinants of Suboptimal Vitamin D Levels in a Multiethnic Asian Population.

PubMed

Man, Ryan Eyn Kidd; Li, Ling-Jun; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Wong, Tien Yin; Lamoureux, Ecosse; Sabanayagam, Charumathi

2017-03-22

This population-based cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and risk factors of suboptimal vitamin D levels (assessed using circulating 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D)) in a multi-ethnic sample of Asian adults. Plasma 25(OH)D concentration of 1139 Chinese, Malay and Indians (40-80 years) were stratified into normal (≥30 ng/mL), and suboptimal (including insufficiency and deficiency, <30 ng/mL) based on the 2011 Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guidelines. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of demographic, lifestyle and clinical risk factors with the outcome. Of the 1139 participants, 25(OH)D concentration was suboptimal in 76.1%. In multivariable models, age ≤65 years (compared to age >65 years), Malay and Indian ethnicities (compared to Chinese ethnicity), and higher body mass index, HbA1c, education and income levels were associated with suboptimal 25(OH)D concentration ( p < 0.05). In a population-based sample of Asian adults, approximately 75% had suboptimal 25(OH)D concentration. Targeted interventions and stricter reinforcements of existing guidelines for vitamin D supplementation are needed for groups at risk of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency.

Suboptimal Choice by Pigeons: An Analog of Human Gambling Behavior

PubMed Central

Zentall, Thomas R.

2014-01-01

Human gambling often involves the choice of a low probability but high valued outcome over a high probability (certain) low valued outcome (not gambling) that is economically more optimal. We have developed an analog of gambling in which pigeons prefer a suboptimal alternative that infrequently provides a signal for a high probability (or high magnitude) of reinforcement over an optimal alternative that always provides a signal for a lower probability (or lower magnitude) of reinforcement. We have identified two mechanisms that may be responsible for this suboptimal behavior. First, the effect of nonreinforcement results in considerably less inhibition of choice than ideally it should. Second, the frequency of the occurrence of the signal for a high probability or high magnitude of reinforcement is less important than ideally it should. Also analogous to human gambling is the finding that pigeons that are normally food restricted choose suboptimally, whereas those that are minimally food restricted choose optimally. In addition, pigeons that are singly housed choose suboptimally, whereas those that are exposed to a more enriched environment choose less suboptimally. We believe that these findings have implications for the understanding and treatment of problem gambling behavior. PMID:24291801

Suboptimal choice by pigeons: an analog of human gambling behavior.

PubMed

Zentall, Thomas R

2014-03-01

Human gambling often involves the choice of a low probability but high valued outcome over a high probability (certain) low valued outcome (not gambling) that is economically more optimal. We have developed an analog of gambling in which pigeons prefer a suboptimal alternative that infrequently provides a signal for a high probability (or high magnitude) of reinforcement over an optimal alternative that always provides a signal for a lower probability (or lower magnitude) of reinforcement. We have identified two mechanisms that may be responsible for this suboptimal behavior. First, the effect of nonreinforcement results in considerably less inhibition of choice than ideally it should. Second, the frequency of the occurrence of the signal for a high probability or high magnitude of reinforcement is less important than ideally it should. Also analogous to human gambling is the finding that pigeons that are normally food restricted choose suboptimally, whereas those that are minimally food restricted choose optimally. In addition, pigeons that are singly housed choose suboptimally, whereas those that are exposed to a more enriched environment choose less suboptimally. We believe that these findings have implications for the understanding and treatment of problem gambling behavior. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevalence and Determinants of Suboptimal Vitamin D Levels in a Multiethnic Asian Population

PubMed Central

Man, Ryan Eyn Kidd; Li, Ling-Jun; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Wong, Tien Yin; Lamoureux, Ecosse; Sabanayagam, Charumathi

2017-01-01

This population-based cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and risk factors of suboptimal vitamin D levels (assessed using circulating 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D)) in a multi-ethnic sample of Asian adults. Plasma 25(OH)D concentration of 1139 Chinese, Malay and Indians (40–80 years) were stratified into normal (≥30 ng/mL), and suboptimal (including insufficiency and deficiency, <30 ng/mL) based on the 2011 Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guidelines. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of demographic, lifestyle and clinical risk factors with the outcome. Of the 1139 participants, 25(OH)D concentration was suboptimal in 76.1%. In multivariable models, age ≤65 years (compared to age >65 years), Malay and Indian ethnicities (compared to Chinese ethnicity), and higher body mass index, HbA1c, education and income levels were associated with suboptimal 25(OH)D concentration (p < 0.05). In a population-based sample of Asian adults, approximately 75% had suboptimal 25(OH)D concentration. Targeted interventions and stricter reinforcements of existing guidelines for vitamin D supplementation are needed for groups at risk of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency. PMID:28327512

Response to reflected-force feedback to fingers in teleoperations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutter, P. H.; Iatridis, J. C.; Thakor, N. V.

1989-01-01

Reflected-force feedback is an important aspect of teleoperations. The objective is to determine the ability of the human operator to respond to that force. Telerobotics operation is simulated by computer control of a motor-driven device with capabilities for programmable force feedback and force measurement. A computer-controlled motor drive is developed that provides forces against the fingers as well as (angular) position control. A load cell moves in a circular arc as it is pushed by a finger and measures reaction forces on the finger. The force exerted by the finger on the load cell and the angular position are digitized and recorded as a function of time by the computer. Flexure forces of the index, long and ring fingers of the human hand in opposition to the motor driven load cell are investigated. Results of the following experiments are presented: (1) Exertion of maximum finger force as a function of angle; (2) Exertion of target finger force against a computer controlled force; and (3) Test of the ability to move to a target force against a force that is a function of position. Averaged over ten individuals, the maximum force that could be exerted by the index or long finger is about 50 Newtons, while that of the ring finger is about 40 Newtons. From the tests of the ability of a subject to exert a target force, it was concluded that reflected-force feedback can be achieved with the direct kinesthetic perception of force without the use of tactile or visual clues.

Outcomes of percutaneous trigger finger release with concurrent steroid injection.

PubMed

Liu, Wen-Chih; Lu, Chun-Kuan; Lin, Yu-Chuan; Huang, Peng-Ju; Lin, Gau-Tyan; Fu, Yin-Chih

2016-12-01

Percutaneous release (PR) of the A1 pulley is a quick, safe, and minimally invasive procedure for treating trigger fingers. The purpose of this study is to identify if PR with additional steroid injections can shorten the recovery to reach unlimited range of motion. Between January 2013 and December 2013, we included 432 trigger fingers with actively correctable triggering or severer symptoms without previous surgical release or steroid injections from two hand clinic offices (A and B). The same experienced surgeon performed PR at the office. Patients from Clinic A received PR with steroid injections and those from Clinic B received PR without steroid injections. Patients returned for follow-up 1 week, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after the procedure. Between the steroid group and the nonsteroid group, there is no significant difference in the mean time for patients to return to normal work and the rate of residual extensor lag. Middle fingers showed a 5.09-fold chance of having a residual extensor lag over that of the other fingers. High grade trigger fingers recovered more slowly than low grade ones. The success rate of a 12-week follow-up was 98.4%. There was no significant difference between the steroid group (97.5%) and the nonsteroid group (99.1%). PR can treat trigger fingers effectively, but additional steroid injection does not provide more benefit. Some fingers showed temporary extensor lag, especially in middle fingers and high grade trigger fingers, but 85% of those will eventually reach full recovery after self-rehabilitation without another surgical release. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Taiwan.

Kinematic evaluation of the finger's interphalangeal joints coupling mechanism--variability, flexion-extension differences, triggers, locking swanneck deformities, anthropometric correlations.

PubMed

Leijnse, J N A L; Quesada, P M; Spoor, C W

2010-08-26

The human finger contains tendon/ligament mechanisms essential for proper control. One mechanism couples the movements of the interphalangeal joints when the (unloaded) finger is flexed with active deep flexor. This study's aim was to accurately determine in a large finger sample the kinematics and variability of the coupled interphalangeal joint motions, for potential clinical and finger model validation applications. The data could also be applied to humanoid robotic hands. Sixty-eight fingers were measured in seventeen hands in nine subjects. Fingers exhibited great joint mobility variability, with passive proximal interphalangeal hyperextension ranging from zero to almost fifty degrees. Increased measurement accuracy was obtained by using marker frames to amplify finger segment motions. Gravitational forces on the marker frames were not found to invalidate measurements. The recorded interphalangeal joint trajectories were highly consistent, demonstrating the underlying coupling mechanism. The increased accuracy and large sample size allowed for evaluation of detailed trajectory variability, systematic differences between flexion and extension trajectories, and three trigger types, distinct from flexor tendon triggers, involving initial flexion deficits in either proximal or distal interphalangeal joint. The experimental methods, data and analysis should advance insight into normal and pathological finger biomechanics (e.g., swanneck deformities), and could help improve clinical differential diagnostics of trigger finger causes. The marker frame measuring method may be useful to quantify interphalangeal joints trajectories in surgical/rehabilitative outcome studies. The data as a whole provide the most comprehensive collection of interphalangeal joint trajectories for clinical reference and model validation known to us to date. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Treatment of soft-tissue loss with nerve defect in the finger using the boomerang nerve flap.

PubMed

Chen, Chao; Tang, Peifu; Zhang, Xu

2013-01-01

This study reports simultaneous repair of soft-tissue loss and proper digital nerve defect in the finger using a boomerang nerve flap including nerve graft from the dorsal branch of the proper digital nerve. From July of 2007 to May of 2010, the flap was used in 17 fingers in 17 patients. The injured fingers included five index, seven long, and five ring fingers. The mean soft-tissue loss was 2.5 × 1.9 cm. The mean flap size was 2.8 × 2.1 cm. Proper digital nerve defects were reconstructed using nerve graft harvested from the dorsal branch of the adjacent finger's proper digital nerve. The average nerve graft length was 2.5 cm. The comparison group included 32 patients treated using a cross-finger flap and a secondary free nerve graft. In the study group, 15 flaps survived completely. Partial necrosis at the distal edge of the flap occurred in two cases. At a mean follow-up of 22 months, the average static two-point discrimination and Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test results on the pulp of the reconstructed finger were 7.5 mm and 3.86, respectively. In the comparison group, the results were 9.3 mm and 3.91, respectively. The study group presented better discriminatory sensation on the pulp and milder pain and cold intolerance in the reconstructed finger. The boomerang nerve flap is useful and reliable for reconstructing complicated finger damage involving soft-tissue loss and nerve defect, especially in difficult anatomical regions. Therapeutic, II.

Estimation of Saxophone Control Parameters by Convex Optimization.

PubMed

Wang, Cheng-I; Smyth, Tamara; Lipton, Zachary C

2014-12-01

In this work, an approach to jointly estimating the tone hole configuration (fingering) and reed model parameters of a saxophone is presented. The problem isn't one of merely estimating pitch as one applied fingering can be used to produce several different pitches by bugling or overblowing. Nor can a fingering be estimated solely by the spectral envelope of the produced sound (as it might for estimation of vocal tract shape in speech) since one fingering can produce markedly different spectral envelopes depending on the player's embouchure and control of the reed. The problem is therefore addressed by jointly estimating both the reed (source) parameters and the fingering (filter) of a saxophone model using convex optimization and 1) a bank of filter frequency responses derived from measurement of the saxophone configured with all possible fingerings and 2) sample recordings of notes produced using all possible fingerings, played with different overblowing, dynamics and timbre. The saxophone model couples one of several possible frequency response pairs (corresponding to the applied fingering), and a quasi-static reed model generating input pressure at the mouthpiece, with control parameters being blowing pressure and reed stiffness. Applied fingering and reed parameters are estimated for a given recording by formalizing a minimization problem, where the cost function is the error between the recording and the synthesized sound produced by the model having incremental parameter values for blowing pressure and reed stiffness. The minimization problem is nonlinear and not differentiable and is made solvable using convex optimization. The performance of the fingering identification is evaluated with better accuracy than previous reported value.

Assessment of two alternative standardised tests for the vascular component of the hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

PubMed

Ye, Ying; Griffin, Michael J

2016-10-01

Vibration-induced white finger (VWF) is the vascular component of the hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Two tests have been standardised so as to assist the diagnosis of VWF: the measurement of finger rewarming times and the measurement of finger systolic blood pressures (FSBPs). This study investigates whether the two tests distinguish between fingers with and without symptoms of whiteness and compares individual results between the two test methods. In 60 men reporting symptoms of the HAVS, the times for their fingers to rewarm by 4°C (after immersion in 15°C water for 5 min) and FSBPs at 30°C, 15°C and 10°C were measured on the same day. There were significant increases in finger rewarming times and significant reductions in FSBPs at both 15°C and 10°C in fingers reported to suffer blanching. The FSBPs had sensitivities and specificities >90%, whereas the finger rewarming test had a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 79%. Fingers having longer rewarming times had lower FSBPs at both temperatures. The findings suggest that, when the test conditions are controlled according to the relevant standard, finger rewarming times and FSBPs can provide useful information for the diagnosis of VWF, although FSBPs are more sensitive and more specific. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Effect of mechanical forces on finger nail curvature: an analysis of the effect of occupation on finger nails.

PubMed

Sano, Hitomi; Shionoya, Kaori; Ogawa, Rei

2014-04-01

We studied the relationship between mechanical force and nail curvature. The effect of different frequencies and strengths of mechanical force on nail curvature was assessed. In Study 1, 63 carpenters and 63 office workers were enrolled, and the configurations of their thumb nails were assessed by measuring the curve index (defined as nail height/width) and pinch strength. In Study 2, nail curvature and pinch strength of jazz bassists, who characteristically do not use the right fourth and fifth fingers but use the left fifth finger a lot, were compared. In Study 3, the thumb nail curvature and pinch strength of the dominant and nondominant sides of the 126 participants from Study 1 were compared. Study 1: Carpenters had a significantly lower mean thumb nail curve index and higher mean pinch strength. Study 2: The nails of the unused right fourth and fifth fingers were much more curved than the nails of the frequently used left fourth and fifth fingers. The pinch strength of the right fifth finger was much weaker than the pinch strength of the left fifth finger. Study 3: The dominant side had a significantly lower nail curve index and higher pinch strength. The frequency and strength of mechanical forces on finger nails significantly affect nail appearance. © 2014 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Workplace accident-related finger-fracture at the Mexican Institute of Social Security. Resolution time, economic impact and sequelae.

PubMed

Salinas-Tovar, Santiago; Hernández-Leyva, Blanca E; Marín-Cotoñieto, Irma Araceli; Santos-Celis, Rafael; Luna-Pizarro, Daniel; López-Rojas, Pablo

2007-01-01

To identify resolution time and economic impact of occupational finger fracture with permanent disability. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2004; the main variables were age; sex; disability days and sequelae. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) was used for the study. The analysis included frequency, exceeded disability days and estimation of cost of disabilities, pensions and direct costs. Chi square test was used to identify the differences. 13,410 Fractures occurred nationwide: multiple finger fractures (803); thumb fractures (1982) and other finger fractures (10,625). Days of resolution time were: 70.5 days for multiple finger fractures and 51.1 days for another finger fractures. Permanent disability partial rate of thumb fracture was 5.3/100, 15.8/100 multiple finger fractures and 5.9 fractures of other finger. The estimated cost by temporary disability in the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social was on $10,669,000 U.S., while permanent disability costs in cases of settlements and annual pension payments were $758,536 U.S. Finger-fracture is a prevalent pathology whichever needs that medical procedures are review, also identify factors that decrease resolution time and establish improve actions that create boundaries on the workers damage health. It must be considered that this condition affects enterprise' productivity and decrease the quality of life from workers.

Finger-tapping motion analysis in cervical myelopathy by magnetic-sensor tapping device.

PubMed

Miwa, Toshitada; Hosono, Noboru; Mukai, Yoshihiro; Makino, Takahiro; Kandori, Akihiko; Fuji, Takeshi

2013-08-01

Case-control study. The purpose of this study is to determine finger motion of patients with cervical myelopathy during finger-tapping cycles. A major symptom of patients with compressive cervical myelopathy is finger clumsiness. Therefore, understanding finger motion is prerequisite in assessing the severity of myelopathy. The popular grip-and-release test evaluates only the number of motion cycles, which is insufficient to fully describe complex finger motion. Forty-three patients with cervical myelopathy and 41 healthy controls tapped their index fingers against their thumbs as rapidly as possible for 30 seconds and the motion was recorded by a magnetic-sensor coil attached to the nail surface. Output signals were stored in a computer, which automatically calculated tapping frequency, distance moved, ratio of opening/closing velocity and the SD of the tapping interval. The SD of the tapping interval was significantly greater and all other measures were significantly smaller in patients with cervical myelopathy, than in healthy controls. All indices significantly improved after surgical decompression of the cervical spine. Distance moved (Pearson correlation coefficient: r=0.590, P<0.001) and the SD of the tapping interval (r=-0.451; P=0.002) were significantly correlated with the Japanese Orthopedic Association score (neurological scale). The quantitative evaluation of finger paralysis was performed by this tapping device. Speed and regularity in repetitive motion of fingers were correlated with the severity of cervical myelopathy.

[Necrosis in fingers and toes following local anaesthesia with adrenaline--an urban legend?].

PubMed

Finsen, Vilhjalmur

2013-09-17

It is often maintained that a local anaesthetic (usually lidocaine) with adrenaline must not be used in fingers and toes because it may cause necrosis due to vascular spasm in end arteries. This review article is an attempt to find evidence to support this warning. Relevant literature was found by means of searches in PubMed limited downwards to 1946 and in EMBASE from 1980 to 2012, and in reference lists. Five review articles on finger necrosis following local anaesthesia concluded that lidocaine with adrenaline does not entail a risk of ischaemic injury. One article found 48 reported cases of finger necrosis in the period 1880 to 2000. Most were from the first half of the 1900s, and none involved lidocaine. Gangrene of part of the finger tip has subsequently been described in one patient with Raynaud's syndrome. No cases of necrosis have been described in a large number of reported accidents in which EpiPen injections contained the same quantity of adrenaline as is found in 60 ml lidocaine with adrenaline. Over a quarter of a million reports have been made of operations on feet, hands, fingers and toes anaesthetised with lidocaine with adrenaline without resulting necrosis. There are no grounds for the warning against using lidocaine with adrenaline in fingers and toes. This anaesthetic offers considerable practical advantages. Care should be taken with infected fingers or fingers with poor circulation.

The effects of human finger and Chinese character on Chinese handwriting performance on mobile touch devices.

PubMed

Chen, Zhe; Rau, Pei-Luen Patrick; Chen, Cuiling

2014-05-01

The aim of the present study is to investigate Chinese handwriting on mobile touch devices, considering the effects of three characteristics of the human finger (type, length, and width) and three characteristics of Chinese characters (direction of the first stroke, number of strokes, and structure). Due to the popularity of touch devices in recent years, finger input for Chinese characters has attracted more attention from both industry and academia. However, previous studies have no systematical consideration on the effects of human finger and Chinese characters on Chinese handwriting performance. An experiment was reported in this article to illustrate the effects of the human finger and Chinese characters on the Chinese handwriting performance (i.e., input time, accuracy, number of protruding strokes, mental workload, satisfaction, and physical fatigue). The experiment results indicated that all six factors have significant effects on Chinese handwriting performance, especially on the input time, accuracy, and number of protruding strokes. Finger type, finger length, finger width, direction of the first stroke, number of strokes, and character structures are significantly influencing Chinese handwriting performance. These factors should be taken into more consideration in future research and the practical design for Chinese handwriting systems.

An open-source model and solution method to predict co-contraction in the finger.

PubMed

MacIntosh, Alexander R; Keir, Peter J

2017-10-01

A novel open-source biomechanical model of the index finger with an electromyography (EMG)-constrained static optimization solution method are developed with the goal of improving co-contraction estimates and providing means to assess tendon tension distribution through the finger. The Intrinsic model has four degrees of freedom and seven muscles (with a 14 component extensor mechanism). A novel plugin developed for the OpenSim modelling software applied the EMG-constrained static optimization solution method. Ten participants performed static pressing in three finger postures and five dynamic free motion tasks. Index finger 3D kinematics, force (5, 15, 30 N), and EMG (4 extrinsic muscles and first dorsal interosseous) were used in the analysis. The Intrinsic model predicted co-contraction increased by 29% during static pressing over the existing model. Further, tendon tension distribution patterns and forces, known to be essential to produce finger action, were determined by the model across all postures. The Intrinsic model and custom solution method improved co-contraction estimates to facilitate force propagation through the finger. These tools improve our interpretation of loads in the finger to develop better rehabilitation and workplace injury risk reduction strategies.

Multiple Fingers - One Gestalt.

PubMed

Lezkan, Alexandra; Manuel, Steven G; Colgate, J Edward; Klatzky, Roberta L; Peshkin, Michael A; Drewing, Knut

2016-01-01

The Gestalt theory of perception offered principles by which distributed visual sensations are combined into a structured experience ("Gestalt"). We demonstrate conditions whereby haptic sensations at two fingertips are integrated in the perception of a single object. When virtual bumps were presented simultaneously to the right hand's thumb and index finger during lateral arm movements, participants reported perceiving a single bump. A discrimination task measured the bump's perceived location and perceptual reliability (assessed by differential thresholds) for four finger configurations, which varied in their adherence to the Gestalt principles of proximity (small versus large finger separation) and synchrony (virtual spring to link movements of the two fingers versus no spring). According to models of integration, reliability should increase with the degree to which multi-finger cues integrate into a unified percept. Differential thresholds were smaller in the virtual-spring condition (synchrony) than when fingers were unlinked. Additionally, in the condition with reduced synchrony, greater proximity led to lower differential thresholds. Thus, with greater adherence to Gestalt principles, thresholds approached values predicted for optimal integration. We conclude that the Gestalt principles of synchrony and proximity apply to haptic perception of surface properties and that these principles can interact to promote multi-finger integration.

Ergonomics Designs of Aluminum Beverage Cans and Bottles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Han Jing; Itoh, Ryouiti; Shinguryo, Takuro

2005-08-05

This paper introduced the finite element analyses into the ergonomics designs to evaluate the human feelings numerically and objectively. Two design examples in developing aluminum beverage cans and bottles are presented. The first example describes a design of the tab of the can with better finger access. A simulation of finger pulling up the tab of the can has been performed and a pain in the finger has been evaluated by using the maximum value of the contact stress of a finger model. The finger access comparison of three kinds of tab ring shape designs showed that the finger accessmore » of the tab that may have a larger contact area with finger is better. The second example describes a design of rib-shape embossed bottles for hot vending. Analyses of tactile sensation of heat have been performed and the amount of heat transmitted from hot bottles to finger was used to present the hot touch feeling. Comparison results showed that the hot touch feeling of rib-shape embossed bottles is better than that of cylindrical bottles, and that the shape of the rib also influenced the hot touch feeling.« less

The inheritance of fingerprint patterns.

PubMed

Slatis, H M; Katznelson, M B; Bonné-Tamir, B

1976-05-01

Analysis of the fingerprints of 571 members of the Habbanite isolate suggest inherited patterns and pattern sequences. A genetic theory has been developed; it assumes that the basic fingerprint pattern sequence is all ulnar loops and that a variety of genes cause deviations from this pattern sequence. Genes that have been proposed include: (1) a semidominant gene for whorls on the thumbs (one homozygote has whorls on both thumbs, the other has ulnar loops on both thumbs and the heterozygote usually has two ulnar loops or one ulnar loop and one whorl); (2) a semidominant gene for whorls on the ring fingers which acts like the gene for whorls on the thumbs; (3) a dominant gene for arches on the thumbs and often on other fingers; (4) one or more dominant genes for arches on the fingers; (5) a dominant gene for whorls on all fingers except for an ulnar loop on the middle finger; (6) a dominant gene for radial loops on the index fingers, frequently associated with an arch on the middle fingers; and (7) a recessive gene for radial loops on the ring and little fingers. These genes may act independently or may show epistasis.

The inheritance of fingerprint patterns.

PubMed Central

Slatis, H M; Katznelson, M B; Bonné-Tamir, B

1976-01-01

Analysis of the fingerprints of 571 members of the Habbanite isolate suggest inherited patterns and pattern sequences. A genetic theory has been developed; it assumes that the basic fingerprint pattern sequence is all ulnar loops and that a variety of genes cause deviations from this pattern sequence. Genes that have been proposed include: (1) a semidominant gene for whorls on the thumbs (one homozygote has whorls on both thumbs, the other has ulnar loops on both thumbs and the heterozygote usually has two ulnar loops or one ulnar loop and one whorl); (2) a semidominant gene for whorls on the ring fingers which acts like the gene for whorls on the thumbs; (3) a dominant gene for arches on the thumbs and often on other fingers; (4) one or more dominant genes for arches on the fingers; (5) a dominant gene for whorls on all fingers except for an ulnar loop on the middle finger; (6) a dominant gene for radial loops on the index fingers, frequently associated with an arch on the middle fingers; and (7) a recessive gene for radial loops on the ring and little fingers. These genes may act independently or may show epistasis. PMID:1266855

Management of the Stiff Finger: Evidence and Outcomes

PubMed Central

Yang, Guang; McGlinn, Evan P.; Chung, Kevin C.

2014-01-01

SYNOPSIS The term “stiff finger” refers to a reduction in the range of motion in the finger, and it is a condition that has many different causes and involves a number of different structures. Almost all injuries of the fingers and some diseases can cause finger stiffness. Hand surgeons often face difficulty treating stiff fingers that are affected by irreversible soft tissues fibrosis. Stiff fingers can be divided into flexion and extension deformities. They can also be sub-classified into four categories according to the involved tissues extending from the skin to the joint capsule. Prevention of stiff fingers by judicious mobilization of the joints is prudent to avoid more complicated treatment after established stiffness occurs. Static progressive and dynamic splints have been considered as effective non-operative interventions to treat stiff fingers. Most authors believe force of joint distraction and time duration of stretching are two important factors to consider while applying a splint or cast. We also introduce the concepts of capsulotomy and collateral ligament release and other soft tissue release of the MCP and PIP joint in this article. Future outcomes research is vital to assessing the effectiveness of these surgical procedures and guiding postoperative treatment recommendations. PMID:24996467

Steam trap monitor

DOEpatents

Ryan, Michael J.

1988-01-01

A steam trap monitor positioned downstream of a steam trap in a closed steam system includes a first sensor (the combination of a hot finger and thermocouple well) for measuring the energy of condensate and a second sensor (a cold finger) for measuring the total energy of condensate and steam in the line. The hot finger includes one or more thermocouples for detecting condensate level and energy, while the cold finger contains a liquid with a lower boiling temperature than that of water. Vapor pressure from the liquid is used to do work such as displacing a piston or bellows in providing an indication of total energy (steam+condensate) of the system. Processing means coupled to and responsive to outputs from the thermocouple well hot and cold fingers subtracts the condensate energy as measured by the hot finger and thermocouple well from the total energy as measured by the cold finger to provide an indication of the presence of steam downstream from the trap indicating that the steam trap is malfunctioning.

Know thyself: behavioral evidence for a structural representation of the human body.

PubMed

Rusconi, Elena; Gonzaga, Mirandola; Adriani, Michela; Braun, Christoph; Haggard, Patrick

2009-01-01

Representing one's own body is often viewed as a basic form of self-awareness. However, little is known about structural representations of the body in the brain. We developed an inter-manual version of the classical "in-between" finger gnosis task: participants judged whether the number of untouched fingers between two touched fingers was the same on both hands, or different. We thereby dissociated structural knowledge about fingers, specifying their order and relative position within a hand, from tactile sensory codes. Judgments following stimulation on homologous fingers were consistently more accurate than trials with no or partial homology. Further experiments showed that structural representations are more enduring than purely sensory codes, are used even when number of fingers is irrelevant to the task, and moreover involve an allocentric representation of finger order, independent of hand posture. Our results suggest the existence of an allocentric representation of body structure at higher stages of the somatosensory processing pathway, in addition to primary sensory representation.

Know Thyself: Behavioral Evidence for a Structural Representation of the Human Body

PubMed Central

Rusconi, Elena; Gonzaga, Mirandola; Adriani, Michela; Braun, Christoph; Haggard, Patrick

2009-01-01

Background Representing one's own body is often viewed as a basic form of self-awareness. However, little is known about structural representations of the body in the brain. Methods and Findings We developed an inter-manual version of the classical “in-between” finger gnosis task: participants judged whether the number of untouched fingers between two touched fingers was the same on both hands, or different. We thereby dissociated structural knowledge about fingers, specifying their order and relative position within a hand, from tactile sensory codes. Judgments following stimulation on homologous fingers were consistently more accurate than trials with no or partial homology. Further experiments showed that structural representations are more enduring than purely sensory codes, are used even when number of fingers is irrelevant to the task, and moreover involve an allocentric representation of finger order, independent of hand posture. Conclusions Our results suggest the existence of an allocentric representation of body structure at higher stages of the somatosensory processing pathway, in addition to primary sensory representation. PMID:19412538

The kinetics and acoustics of fingering and note transitions on the flute.

PubMed

Almeida, André; Chow, Renee; Smith, John; Wolfe, Joe

2009-09-01

Motion of the keys was measured in a transverse flute while beginner, amateur, and professional flutists played a range of exercises. The time taken for a key to open or close was typically 10 ms when pushed by a finger or 16 ms when moved by a spring. Because the opening and closing of keys will never be exactly simultaneous, transitions between notes that involve the movement of multiple fingers can occur via several possible pathways with different intermediate fingerings. A transition is classified as "safe" if it is possible to be slurred from the initial to final note with little perceptible change in pitch or volume. Some transitions are "unsafe" and possibly involve a transient change in pitch or a decrease in volume. Players, on average, used safe transitions more frequently than unsafe transitions. Delays between the motion of the fingers were typically tens of milliseconds, with longer delays as more fingers become involved. Professionals exhibited smaller average delays between the motion of their fingers than did amateurs.

Generation of dense plume fingers in saturated-unsaturated homogeneous porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cremer, Clemens J. M.; Graf, Thomas

2015-02-01

Flow under variable-density conditions is widespread, occurring in geothermal reservoirs, at waste disposal sites or due to saltwater intrusion. The migration of dense plumes typically results in the formation of vertical plume fingers which are known to be triggered by material heterogeneity or by variations in source concentration that causes the density variation. Using a numerical groundwater model, six perturbation methods are tested under saturated and unsaturated flow conditions to mimic heterogeneity and concentration variations on the pore scale in order to realistically generate dense fingers. A laboratory-scale sand tank experiment is numerically simulated, and the perturbation methods are evaluated by comparing plume fingers obtained from the laboratory experiment with numerically simulated fingers. Dense plume fingering for saturated flow can best be reproduced with a spatially random, time-constant perturbation of the solute source. For unsaturated flow, a spatially and temporally random noise of solute concentration or a random conductivity field adequately simulate plume fingering.

Relationship between stress-related psychosocial work factors and suboptimal health among Chinese medical staff: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Liang, Ying-Zhi; Chu, Xi; Meng, Shi-Jiao; Zhang, Jie; Wu, Li-Juan; Yan, Yu-Xiang

2018-03-06

The study aimed to develop and validate a model to measure psychosocial factors at work among medical staff in China based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The second aim of the current study was to clarify the association between stress-related psychosocial work factors and suboptimal health status. The cross-sectional study was conducted using clustered sampling method. Xuanwu Hospital, a 3A grade hospital in Beijing. Nine hundred and fourteen medical staff aged over 40 years were sampled. Seven hundred and ninety-seven valid questionnaires were collected and used for further analyses. The sample included 94% of the Han population. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and the Suboptimal Health Status Questionnaires-25 were used to assess the psychosocial factors at work and suboptimal health status, respectively. CFA was conducted to establish the evaluating method of COPSOQ. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to estimate the relationship between suboptimal health status and stress-related psychosocial work factors among Chinese medical staff. There was a strong correlation among the five dimensions of COPSOQ based on the first-order factor model. Then, we established two second-order factors including negative and positive psychosocial work stress factors to evaluate psychosocial factors at work, and the second-order factor model fit well. The high score in negative (OR (95% CI)=1.47 (1.34 to 1.62), P<0.001) and positive (OR (95% CI)=0.96 (0.94 to 0.98), P<0.001) psychosocial work factors increased and decreased the risk of suboptimal health, respectively. This relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for confounders and when using different cut-offs of suboptimal health status. Among medical staff, the second-order factor model was a suitable method to evaluate the COPSOQ. The negative and positive psychosocial work stress factors might be the risk and protective factors of suboptimal health, respectively. Moreover, negative psychosocial work stress was the most associated factor to predict suboptimal health. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Relationship between stress-related psychosocial work factors and suboptimal health among Chinese medical staff: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Meng, Shi-Jiao; Zhang, Jie; Wu, Li-Juan; Yan, Yu-Xiang

2018-01-01

Objectives The study aimed to develop and validate a model to measure psychosocial factors at work among medical staff in China based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The second aim of the current study was to clarify the association between stress-related psychosocial work factors and suboptimal health status. Design The cross-sectional study was conducted using clustered sampling method. Setting Xuanwu Hospital, a 3A grade hospital in Beijing. Participants Nine hundred and fourteen medical staff aged over 40 years were sampled. Seven hundred and ninety-seven valid questionnaires were collected and used for further analyses. The sample included 94% of the Han population. Main outcome measures The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and the Suboptimal Health Status Questionnaires-25 were used to assess the psychosocial factors at work and suboptimal health status, respectively. CFA was conducted to establish the evaluating method of COPSOQ. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to estimate the relationship between suboptimal health status and stress-related psychosocial work factors among Chinese medical staff. Results There was a strong correlation among the five dimensions of COPSOQ based on the first-order factor model. Then, we established two second-order factors including negative and positive psychosocial work stress factors to evaluate psychosocial factors at work, and the second-order factor model fit well. The high score in negative (OR (95% CI)=1.47 (1.34 to 1.62), P<0.001) and positive (OR (95% CI)=0.96 (0.94 to 0.98), P<0.001) psychosocial work factors increased and decreased the risk of suboptimal health, respectively. This relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for confounders and when using different cut-offs of suboptimal health status. Conclusions Among medical staff, the second-order factor model was a suitable method to evaluate the COPSOQ. The negative and positive psychosocial work stress factors might be the risk and protective factors of suboptimal health, respectively. Moreover, negative psychosocial work stress was the most associated factor to predict suboptimal health. PMID:29511008

Sequence Discrimination by Alternatively Spliced Isoforms of a DNA Binding Zinc Finger Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gogos, Joseph A.; Hsu, Tien; Bolton, Jesse; Kafatos, Fotis C.

1992-09-01

Two major developmentally regulated isoforms of the Drosophila chorion transcription factor CF2 differ by an extra zinc finger within the DNA binding domain. The preferred DNA binding sites were determined and are distinguished by an internal duplication of TAT in the site recognized by the isoform with the extra finger. The results are consistent with modular interactions between zinc fingers and trinucleotides and also suggest rules for recognition of AT-rich DNA sites by zinc finger proteins. The results show how modular finger interactions with trinucleotides can be used, in conjunction with alternative splicing, to alter the binding specificity and increase the spectrum of sites recognized by a DNA binding domain. Thus, CF2 may potentially regulate distinct sets of target genes during development.

Single Degree-of-Freedom Exoskeleton Mechanism Design for Finger Rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Wolbrecht, Eric T.; Reinkensmeyer, David J.; Perez-Gracia, Alba

2014-01-01

This paper presents the kinematic design of a single degree-of-freedom exoskeleton mechanism: a planar eight-bar mechanism for finger curling. The mechanism is part of a finger-thumb robotic device for hand therapy that will allow users to practice key pinch grip and finger-thumb opposition, allowing discrete control inputs for playing notes on a musical gaming interface. This approach uses the mechanism to generate the desired grasping trajectory rather than actuating the joints of the fingers and thumb independently. In addition, the mechanism is confined to the back of the hand, so as to allow sensory input into the palm of the hand, minimal size and apparent inertia, and the possibility of placing multiple mechanisms side-by-side to allow control of individual fingers. PMID:22275628

High co-occurrence of anorectal chlamydia with urogenital chlamydia in women visiting an STI clinic revealed by routine universal testing in an observational study; a recommendation towards a better anorectal chlamydia control in women

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Symptom- and sexual history-based testing i.e., testing on indication, for anorectal sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women is common. Yet, it is unknown whether this strategy is effective. Moreover, little is known about alternative transmission routes i.e. by fingers/toys. This study assesses anorectal STI prevalence and infections missed by current testing practice, thereby informing the optimal control strategy for anorectal STIs in women. Methods Women (n = 663) attending our STI-clinic between May 2012-July 2013 were offered routine testing for anorectal and urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Data were collected on demographics, sexual behaviour and symptoms. Women were assigned to one of the categories: indication (reported anal sex/symptoms), fingers/toys (only reported use of fingers/toys), or without indication. Results Of women, 92% (n = 654) participated. There were 203 reports (31.0%) of anal sex and/or symptoms (indication), 48 reports (7.3%) of only using fingers/toys (fingers/toys), and 403 reports (61.6%) of no anal symptoms, no anal sex and no anal use of fingers/toys (without indication). The overall prevalence was 11.2% (73/654) for urogenital chlamydia and 8.4% (55/654) for anorectal chlamydia. Gonorrhoea infections were not observed. Prevalence of anorectal chlamydia was 7.9% (16/203) for women with indication and 8.6% (39/451) for all other women (P = 0.74). Two-thirds (39/55) of anorectal infections were diagnosed in women without indication. Isolated anorectal chlamydia was rare (n = 3): of all women with an anorectal infection, 94.5% (52/55) also had co-occurrence of urogenital chlamydia. Of all women with urogenital chlamydia, 71.2% (52/73) also had anorectal chlamydia. Conclusions Current selective testing on indication of symptoms and sexual history is not an appropriate control strategy for anorectal chlamydia in women visiting an STI clinic. Routine universal anorectal testing is feasible and may be a possible control strategy in women. Yet costs may be a problem. When more restricted control measures are preferred, possible alternatives include (1) anorectal testing only in women with urogenital chlamydia (problem: treatment delay or loss to follow up), and (2) direct treatment for urogenital chlamydia that is effective for anorectal chlamydia as well. PMID:24885306

Finger-Vein Verification Based on Multi-Features Fusion

PubMed Central

Qin, Huafeng; Qin, Lan; Xue, Lian; He, Xiping; Yu, Chengbo; Liang, Xinyuan

2013-01-01

This paper presents a new scheme to improve the performance of finger-vein identification systems. Firstly, a vein pattern extraction method to extract the finger-vein shape and orientation features is proposed. Secondly, to accommodate the potential local and global variations at the same time, a region-based matching scheme is investigated by employing the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) matching method. Finally, the finger-vein shape, orientation and SIFT features are combined to further enhance the performance. The experimental results on databases of 426 and 170 fingers demonstrate the consistent superiority of the proposed approach. PMID:24196433

Noninvasively measuring oxygen saturation of human finger-joint vessels by multi-transducer functional photoacoustic tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zijian; Li, Changhui

2016-06-01

Imaging small blood vessels and measuring their functional information in finger joint are still challenges for clinical imaging modalities. In this study, we developed a multi-transducer functional photoacoustic tomography (PAT) system and successfully imaged human finger-joint vessels from ˜1 mm to <0.2 mm in diameter. In addition, the oxygen saturation (SO2) values of these vessels were also measured. Our results demonstrate that PAT can provide both anatomical and functional information of individual finger-joint vessels with different sizes, which might help the study of finger-joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Perception and Haptic Rendering of Friction Moments.

PubMed

Kawasaki, H; Ohtuka, Y; Koide, S; Mouri, T

2011-01-01

This paper considers moments due to friction forces on the human fingertip. A computational technique called the friction moment arc method is presented. The method computes the static and/or dynamic friction moment independent of a friction force calculation. In addition, a new finger holder to display friction moment is presented. This device incorporates a small brushless motor and disk, and connects the human's finger to an interface finger of the five-fingered haptic interface robot HIRO II. Subjects' perception of friction moment while wearing the finger holder, as well as perceptions during object manipulation in a virtual reality environment, were evaluated experimentally.

Differing roles for zinc fingers in DNA recognition: Structure of a six-finger transcription factor IIIA complex

PubMed Central

Nolte, Robert T.; Conlin, Rachel M.; Harrison, Stephen C.; Brown, Raymond S.

1998-01-01

The crystal structure of the six NH2-terminal zinc fingers of Xenopus laevis transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA) bound with 31 bp of the 5S rRNA gene promoter has been determined at 3.1 Å resolution. Individual zinc fingers are positioned differently in the major groove and across the minor groove of DNA to span the entire length of the duplex. These results show how TFIIIA can recognize several separated DNA sequences by using fewer fingers than necessary for continuous winding in the major groove. PMID:9501194

Evolution under monogamy feminizes gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Hollis, Brian; Houle, David; Yan, Zheng; Kawecki, Tadeusz J; Keller, Laurent

2014-03-18

Many genes have evolved sexually dimorphic expression as a consequence of divergent selection on males and females. However, because the sexes share a genome, the extent to which evolution can shape gene expression independently in each sex is controversial. Here, we use experimental evolution to reveal suboptimal sex-specific expression for much of the genome. By enforcing a monogamous mating system in populations of Drosophila melanogaster for over 100 generations, we eliminated major components of selection on males: female choice and male-male competition. If gene expression is subject to sexually antagonistic selection, relaxed selection on males should cause evolution towards female optima. Monogamous males and females show this pattern of feminization in both the whole-body and head transcriptomes. Genes with male-biased expression patterns evolved decreased expression under monogamy, while genes with female-biased expression evolved increased expression, relative to polygamous populations. Our results demonstrate persistent and widespread evolutionary tension between male and female adaptation.

A variational approach to the strongly nonlinear regime of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshikawa, Toshio

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability is the instability of the interface between two fluids of different densities. When a heavy fluid is superposed over a light fluid. small disturbances on the interface develop into a complex form with heavy fluid ``fingers'' and light fluid ``bubbles.'' We propose a variational method for the description of the evolution of the fingers and bubbles in the late stage of the instability. In this method, the fluid region is represented as the image of a time-dependent conformal mapping; the dynamics of the mapping is determined by the least action principle for the Lagrangian. i.e., the kinetic energy minus the potential energy. The evolution of a single finger and bubble is investigated by this method. We first consider a symmetric finger and bubble in a zero gravitational field. We derive an integrable Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom that governs the dynamics of the symmetric finger and bubble. We present a general solution of the system. The solution predicts the linear growth of the finger and the saturation of the bubble growth. It is shown that this solution is asymptotically exact. We consider a symmetric finger and bubble with perturbations. We show that the dynamics of the finger and bubble and that of the perturbations are decoupled. We next consider an inclined finger and bubble in a zero gravitational field. We derive a Hamiltonian system with four degrees of freedom that governs the dynamics of the inclined finger and bubble. The system has four integrals of motion, one of them depends on time explicitly. When there is no lateral motion, the system reduces to an integrable Hamiltonian system with three degrees of freedom. A general solution of the system is presented. The solution predicts the linear growth of the finger toward a direction and the saturation of the bubble growth. Finally, we consider a symmetric finger and bubble in a uniform gravitational field. We derive a Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom that governs the dynamics of the symmetric finger and bubble. Since the system includes a potential energy term, it is not integrable in general. However, we present a general solution in the case of the total energy being zero. This case corresponds to an interesting case where the evolution starts from a flat surface. The solution predicts that the finger grows as the square of time, and the bubble as the square root of time.

Defective imitation of finger configurations in patients with damage in the right or left hemispheres: An integration disorder of visual and somatosensory information?

PubMed

Okita, Manabu; Yukihiro, Takashi; Miyamoto, Kenzo; Morioka, Shu; Kaba, Hideto

2017-04-01

To explore the mechanism underlying the imitation of finger gestures, we devised a simple imitation task in which the patients were instructed to replicate finger configurations in two conditions: one in which they could see their hand (visual feedback: VF) and one in which they could not see their hand (non-visual feedback: NVF). Patients with left brain damage (LBD) or right brain damage (RBD), respectively, were categorized into two groups based on their scores on the imitation task in the NVF condition: the impaired imitation groups (I-LBD and I-RBD) who failed two or more of the five patterns and the control groups (C-LBD and C-RBD) who made one or no errors. We also measured the movement-production times for imitation. The I-RBD group performed significantly worse than the C-RBD group even in the VF condition. In contrast, the I-LBD group was selectively impaired in the NVF condition. The I-LBD group performed the imitations at a significantly slower rate than the C-LBD group in both the VF and NVF conditions. These results suggest that impaired imitation in patients with LBD is partly due to an abnormal integration of visual and somatosensory information based on the task specificity of the NVF condition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One-stage treatment of delayed 'jersey finger' by Z-step lengthening of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon at the wrist.

PubMed

Sawaya, Elias T; Choughri, Hussein; Pelissier, Philippe

2012-02-01

The authors report the case of a 19-year-old female with delayed presentation of a type II 'jersey finger' of the fourth dominant digit. A surgical approach was performed, revealing a retracted flexor digitorum profundus tendon within a still patent sheath. The resulting loss of tendon length overruled any possibility of direct reinsertion of the tendon. A lengthening "Z-step" tendinoplasty was then performed on the tendon at the wrist, thus enabling reinsertion at the base of the distal phalanx. The patient then underwent conventional splinting and physiotherapy. Total Active Motion was measured at 220° with a 6-month follow-up. Even though there is no clear consensus concerning management of such cases, different techniques have been described, such as one- or two-stage grafting, or tenotomy at the musculotendinous junction. Lengthening tendinoplasties have been applied by certain authors but only to the flexor pollicis longus tendon. To our knowledge, this is the only reported case of lengthening Z-step applied to a long digit for the repair of type II 'jersey finger' lesions. The satisfactory functional and cosmetic outcome encourages us to consider this one-stage technique in other select cases, in order to gather more formal evidence. Copyright © 2011 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Autonomous dexterous end-effectors for space robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bekey, George A.; Iberall, Thea; Liu, Huan

1989-01-01

The development of a knowledge-based controller is summarized for the Belgrade/USC robot hand, a five-fingered end effector, designed for maximum autonomy. The biological principles of the hand and its architecture are presented. The conceptual and software aspects of the grasp selection system are discussed, including both the effects of the geometry of the target object and the task to be performed. Some current research issues are presented.

Bio-Inspired Sensing and Display of Polarization Imagery

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-07-17

and weighting coefficients in this example. Panel 4D clearly shows a better visibility, feature extraction , and lesser effect from the background...of linear polarization. Panel E represents the segmentation of the degree of linear polarization, and then Panel F shows the extracted segment with...polarization, and Panel F shows the segment extraction with the finger print selected. Panel G illustrates the application of Canny edge detection to

Selectivity of arsenite interaction with zinc finger proteins.

PubMed

Zhao, Linhong; Chen, Siming; Jia, Liangyuan; Shu, Shi; Zhu, Pingping; Liu, Yangzhong

2012-08-01

Arsenic is a carcinogenic element also used for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. The reactivity of proteins to arsenic must be associated with the various biological functions of As. Here, we investigated the selectivity of arsenite to zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) with different zinc binding motifs (C2H2, C3H, and C4). Single ZFP domain proteins were used for the direct comparison of the reactivity of different ZFPs. The binding constants and the reaction rates have been studied quantitatively. Results show that both the binding affinity and reaction rates of single-domain ZFPs follow the trend of C4 > C3H ≫ C2H2. Compared with the C2H2 motif ZFPs, the binding affinities of C3H and C4 motif ZFPs are nearly two orders of magnitude higher and the reaction rates are approximately two-fold higher. The formation of multi-domain ZFPs significantly enhances the reactivity of C2H2 type ZFPs, but has negligible effects on C3H and C4 ZFPs. Consequently, the reactivities of the three types of multi-domain ZFPs are rather similar. The 2D NMR spectra indicate that the As(III)-bound ZFPs are also unfolded, suggesting that arsenic binding interferes with the function of ZFPs.

[The point-digital interpretation and the choice of the dermatoglyphic patterns on human fingers for diagnostics of consanguineous relationship].

PubMed

Zvyagin, V N; Rakitin, V A; Fomina, E E

The objective of the present study was the development of the point-digital model for the scaless interpretation of the dermatoglyphic papillary patterns on human fingers that would allow to comprehensively describe, in digital terms, the main characteristics of the traits and perform the quantitative assessment of the frequency of their inheritance. A specially developed computer program, D.glyphic. 7-14 was used to mark the dermatoglyphic patterns on the fingerprints obtained from 30 familial triplets (father + mother + child).The values of all the studied traits for kinship diagnostics were found by calculating the ratios of the sums of differences between the traits in the parent-parent pairs to those in the respective parent-child pairs. The algorithms for the point marking of the traits and reading out the digital information about them have been developed. The traditional dermatoglyphic patterns were selected and the novel ones applied for the use in the framework of the point-digital model for the interpretation of the for diagnostics of consanguineous relationship. The present experimental study has demonstrated the high level of inheritance of the selected traits and the possibility to develop the algorithms and computation techniques for the calculation of consanguineous relationship coefficients based on these traits.

Reach and Validity of an Objective Medication Adherence Measure Among Safety Net Health Plan Members with Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Ratanawongsa, Neda; Karter, Andrew J; Quan, Judy; Parker, Melissa M; Handley, Margaret; Sarkar, Urmimala; Schmittdiel, Julie A; Schillinger, Dean

2015-08-01

With the expansion of Medicaid and low-cost health insurance plans among diverse patient populations, objective measures of medication adherence using pharmacy claims could advance clinical care and translational research for safety net care. However, safety net patients may experience fluctuating prescription drug coverage, affecting the performance of adherence measures. To evaluate the performance of continuous medication gap (CMG) for diverse, low-income managed care members with diabetes. We conducted this cross-sectional analysis using administrative and clinical data for 680 members eligible for a self-management support trial at a nonprofit, government-sponsored managed care plan. We applied CMG methodology to cardiometabolic medication claims for English- , Cantonese- , or Spanish-speaking members with diabetes. We examined inclusiveness (the proportion with calculable CMG) and selectivity (sociodemographic and medical differences from members without CMG). For validity, we examined unadjusted associations of suboptimal adherence (CMG >  20%) with suboptimal cardiometabolic control. 429 members (63%) had calculable CMG. Compared with members without CMG, members with CMG were younger, more likely employed, and had poorer glycemic control but had better blood pressure and lipid control. Suboptimal adherence occurred more frequently among members with poor cardiometabolic control than among members with optimal control (28% vs. 12%, P = 0.02). CMG demonstrated acceptable inclusiveness and validity in a diverse, low-income safety net population, comparable with its performance in studies among other insured populations. CMG may provide a useful tool to measure adherence among increasingly diverse Medicaid populations, complemented by other strategies to reach those not captured by CMG.

Numerical Generation of Dense Plume Fingers in Unsaturated Homogeneous Porous Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cremer, C.; Graf, T.

2012-04-01

In nature, the migration of dense plumes typically results in the formation of vertical plume fingers. Flow direction in fingers is downwards, which is counterbalanced by upwards flow of less dense fluid between fingers. In heterogeneous media, heterogeneity itself is known to trigger the formation of fingers. In homogeneous media, however, fingers are also created even if all grains had the same diameter. The reason is that pore-scale heterogeneity leading to different flow velocities also exists in homogeneous media due to two effects: (i) Grains of identical size may randomly arrange differently, e.g. forming tetrahedrons, hexahedrons or octahedrons. Each arrangement creates pores of varying diameter, thus resulting in different average flow velocities. (ii) Random variations of solute concentration lead to varying buoyancy effects, thus also resulting in different velocities. As a continuation of previously made efforts to incorporate pore-scale heterogeneity into fully saturated soil such that dense fingers are realistically generated (Cremer and Graf, EGU Assembly, 2011), the current paper extends the research scope from saturated to unsaturated soil. Perturbation methods are evaluated by numerically re-simulating a laboratory-scale experiment of plume transport in homogeneous unsaturated sand (Simmons et al., Transp. Porous Media, 2002). The following 5 methods are being discussed: (i) homogeneous sand, (ii) initial perturbation of solute concentration, (iii) spatially random, time-constant perturbation of solute source, (iv) spatially and temporally random noise of simulated solute concentration, and (v) random K-field that introduces physically insignificant but numerically significant heterogeneity. Results demonstrate that, as opposed to saturated flow, perturbing the solute source will not result in plume fingering. This is because the location of the perturbed source (domain top) and the location of finger generation (groundwater surface) do not coincide. Alternatively, similar to saturated flow, applying either a random concentration noise (iv) or a random K-field (v) generates realistic plume fingering. Future work will focus on the generation mechanisms of plume finger splitting.

Mechanisms of inhibition of zinc-finger transcription factors by selenium compounds ebselen and selenite.

PubMed

Larabee, Jason L; Hocker, James R; Hanas, Jay S

2009-03-01

The anti-inflammatory selenium compounds, ebselen (2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3[2H]-one) and selenite, were found to alter the DNA binding mechanisms and structures of cysteine-rich zinc-finger transcription factors. As assayed by DNase I protection, DNA binding by TFIIIA (transcription factor IIIA, prototypical Cys(2)His(2) zinc finger protein), was inhibited by micromolar amounts of ebselen. In a gel shift assay, ebselen inhibited the Cys(2)His(2) zinc finger-containing DNA binding domain (DBD) of the NF-kappaB mediated transcription factor Sp1. Ebselen also inhibited DNA binding by the p50 subunit of the pro-inflammatory Cys-containing NF-kappaB transcription factor. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was utilized to elucidate mechanisms of chemical interaction between ebselen and a zinc-bound Cys(2)His(2) zinc finger polypeptide modeled after the third finger of Sp1 (Sp1-3). Exposing Sp1-3 to micromolar amounts of ebselen resulted in Zn(2+) release from this peptide and the formation of a disulfide bond by oxidation of zinc finger SH groups, the likely mechanism for DNA binding inhibition. Selenite was shown by ESI-MS to also eject zinc from Sp1-3 as well as induce disulfide bond formation through SH oxidation. The selenite-dependent inhibition/oxidation mechanism differed from that of ebselen by inducing the formation of a stable selenotrisulfide bond. Selenite-induced selenotrisulfide formation was dependent upon the structure of the Cys(2)His(2) zinc finger as alteration in the finger structure enhanced this reaction as well as selenite-dependent zinc release. Ebselen and selenite-dependent inhibition/oxidation of Cys-rich zinc finger proteins, with concomitant release of zinc and finger structural changes, points to mechanisms at the atomic and protein level for selenium-induced alterations in Cys-rich proteins, and possible amelioration of certain inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and oncogenic responses.

Finger-attachment device for the feedback of gripping and pulling force in a manipulating system for brain tumor resection.

PubMed

Chinbe, Hiroyuki; Yoneyama, Takeshi; Watanabe, Tetsuyou; Miyashita, Katsuyoshi; Nakada, Mitsutoshi

2018-01-01

Development and evaluation of an effective attachment device for a bilateral brain tumor resection robotic surgery system based on the sensory performance of the human index finger in order to precisely detect gripping- and pulling-force feedback. First, a basic test was conducted to investigate the performance of the human index finger in the gripping- and pulling-force feedback system. Based on the test result, a new finger-attachment device was designed and constructed. Then, discrimination tests were conducted to assess the pulling force and the feedback on the hardness of the gripped material. The results of the basic test show the application of pulling force on the side surface of the finger has an advantage to distinguish the pulling force when the gripping force is applied on the finger-touching surface. Based on this result, a finger-attachment device that applies a gripping force on the finger surface and pulling force on the side surface of the finger was developed. By conducting a discrimination test to assess the hardness of the gripped material, an operator can distinguish whether the gripped material is harder or softer than a normal brain tissue. This will help in confirming whether the gripped material is a tumor. By conducting a discrimination test to assess the pulling force, an operator can distinguish the pulling-force resistance when attempting to pull off the soft material. Pulling-force feedback may help avoid the breaking of blood pipes when they are trapped in the gripper or attached to the gripped tissue. The finger-attachment device that was developed for detecting gripping- and pulling-force feedback may play an important role in the development of future neurosurgery robotic systems for precise and safe resection of brain tumors.

Anatomically ordered tapping interferes more with one-digit addition than two-digit addition: a dual-task fMRI study.

PubMed

Soylu, Firat; Newman, Sharlene D

2016-02-01

Fingers are used as canonical representations for numbers across cultures. In previous imaging studies, it was shown that arithmetic processing activates neural resources that are known to participate in finger movements. Additionally, in one dual-task study, it was shown that anatomically ordered finger tapping disrupts addition and subtraction more than multiplication, possibly due to a long-lasting effect of early finger counting experiences on the neural correlates and organization of addition and subtraction processes. How arithmetic task difficulty and tapping complexity affect the concurrent performance is still unclear. If early finger counting experiences have bearing on the neural correlates of arithmetic in adults, then one would expect anatomically and non-anatomically ordered tapping to have different interference effects, given that finger counting is usually anatomically ordered. To unravel these issues, we studied how (1) arithmetic task difficulty and (2) the complexity of the finger tapping sequence (anatomical vs. non-anatomical ordering) affect concurrent performance and use of key neural circuits using a mixed block/event-related dual-task fMRI design with adult participants. The results suggest that complexity of the tapping sequence modulates interference on addition, and that one-digit addition (fact retrieval), compared to two-digit addition (calculation), is more affected from anatomically ordered tapping. The region-of-interest analysis showed higher left angular gyrus BOLD response for one-digit compared to two-digit addition, and in no-tapping conditions than dual tapping conditions. The results support a specific association between addition fact retrieval and anatomically ordered finger movements in adults, possibly due to finger counting strategies that deploy anatomically ordered finger movements early in the development.

Modeling of the interaction between grip force and vibration transmissibility of a finger.

PubMed

Wu, John Z; Welcome, Daniel E; McDowell, Thomas W; Xu, Xueyan S; Dong, Ren G

2017-07-01

It is known that the vibration characteristics of the fingers and hand and the level of grip action interacts when operating a power tool. In the current study, we developed a hybrid finger model to simulate the vibrations of the hand-finger system when gripping a vibrating handle covered with soft materials. The hybrid finger model combines the characteristics of conventional finite element (FE) models, multi-body musculoskeletal models, and lumped mass models. The distal, middle, and proximal finger segments were constructed using FE models, the finger segments were connected via three flexible joint linkages (i.e., distal interphalangeal joint (DIP), proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP), and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint), and the MCP joint was connected to the ground and handle via lumped parameter elements. The effects of the active muscle forces were accounted for via the joint moments. The bone, nail, and hard connective tissues were assumed to be linearly elastic whereas the soft tissues, which include the skin and subcutaneous tissues, were considered as hyperelastic and viscoelastic. The general trends of the model predictions agree well with the previous experimental measurements in that the resonant frequency increased from proximal to the middle and to the distal finger segments for the same grip force, that the resonant frequency tends to increase with increasing grip force for the same finger segment, especially for the distal segment, and that the magnitude of vibration transmissibility tends to increase with increasing grip force, especially for the proximal segment. The advantage of the proposed model over the traditional vibration models is that it can predict the local vibration behavior of the finger to a tissue level, while taking into account the effects of the active musculoskeletal force, the effects of the contact conditions on vibrations, the global vibration characteristics. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Settling-driven gravitational instabilities associated with volcanic clouds: new insights from experimental investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scollo, Simona; Bonadonna, Costanza; Manzella, Irene

2017-06-01

Downward propagating instabilities are often observed at the bottom of volcanic plumes and clouds. These instabilities generate fingers that enhance the sedimentation of fine ash. Despite their potential influence on tephra dispersal and deposition, their dynamics is not entirely understood, undermining the accuracy of volcanic ash transport and dispersal models. Here, we present new laboratory experiments that investigate the effects of particle size, composition and concentration on finger generation and dynamics. The experimental set-up consists of a Plexiglas tank equipped with a removable plastic sheet that separates two different layers. The lower layer is a solution of water and sugar, initially denser than the upper layer, which consists of water and particles. Particles in the experiments include glass beads as well as andesitic, rhyolitic and basaltic volcanic ash. During the experiments, we removed the horizontal plastic sheet separating the two fluids. Particles were illuminated with a laser and filmed with a HD camera; particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to analyse finger dynamics. Results show that both the number and the downward advance speed of fingers increase with particle concentration in the upper layer, while finger speed increases with particle size but is independent of particle composition. An increase in particle concentration and turbulence is estimated to take place inside the fingers, which could promote aggregation in subaerial fallout events. Finally, finger number, finger speed and particle concentration were observed to decrease with time after the formation of fingers. A similar pattern could occur in volcanic clouds when the mass supply from the eruptive vent is reduced. Observed evolution of the experiments through time also indicates that there must be a threshold of fine ash concentration and mass eruption rate below which fingers do not form; this is also confirmed by field observations.

Modeling the finger joint moments in a hand at the maximal isometric grip: the effects of friction.

PubMed

Wu, John Z; Dong, Ren G; McDowell, Thomas W; Welcome, Daniel E

2009-12-01

The interaction between the handle and operator's hand affects the comfort and safety of tool and machine operations. In most of the previous studies, the investigators considered only the normal contact forces. The effect of friction on the joint moments in fingers has not been analyzed. Furthermore, the observed contact forces have not been linked to the internal musculoskeletal loading in the previous experimental studies. In the current study, we proposed a universal model of a hand to evaluate the joint moments in the fingers during grasping tasks. The hand model was developed on the platform of the commercial software package AnyBody. Only four fingers (index, long, ring, and little finger) were included in the model. The anatomical structure of each finger is comprised of four phalanges (distal, middle, proximal, and metacarpal phalange). The simulations were performed using an inverse dynamics technique. The joint angles and the normal contact forces on each finger section reported by previous researchers were used as inputs, while the joint moments of each finger were predicted. The predicted trends of the dependence of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint moments on the cylinder diameter agree with those of the contact forces on the fingers observed in the previous experimental study. Our results show that the DIP and PIP joint moments reach their maximums at a cylinder diameter of about 31mm, which is consistent with the trend of the finger contact forces measured in the experiments. The proposed approach will be useful for simulating musculoskeletal loading in the hand for occupational activities, thereby optimizing tool-handle design.

Suboptimal palliative sedation in primary care: an exploration.

PubMed

Pype, Peter; Teuwen, Inge; Mertens, Fien; Sercu, Marij; De Sutter, An

2018-02-01

Palliative sedation is a therapeutic option to control refractory symptoms in terminal palliative patients. This study aims at describing the occurrence and characteristics of suboptimal palliative sedations in primary care and at exploring the way general practitioners (GPs) experience suboptimal palliative sedation in their practice. We conducted a mixed methods study with a quantitative prospective survey in primary care and qualitative semi-structured interviews with GPs. The research team defined suboptimal palliative sedation as a time interval until deep sleep >1.5 h and/ or >2 awakenings after the start of the unconsciousness. Descriptive statistics were calculated on the quantitative data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse interview transcripts. We registered 63 palliative sedations in 1181 home deaths, 27 forms were completed. Eleven palliative sedations were suboptimal: eight due to the long time span until deep sleep; three due the number of unintended awakenings. GPs' interview analysis revealed two major themes: the shifting perception of failure and the burden of responsibility. Suboptimal palliative sedation occurs frequently in primary palliative care. Efficient communication towards family members is needed to prevent them from having unrealistic expectations and to prevent putting pressure on the GP to hasten the procedure. Sharing the burden of decision-making during the procedure with other health care professionals might diminish the heavy responsibility as perceived by GPs.

Dangers of neglect: partially embedded ring upon a finger.

PubMed

Kumar, Anand; Edwards, Huw; Lidder, Surjit; Mestha, Prabhakar

2013-05-09

Digital swelling is a common presentation in clinical practice. Patients presenting with swollen fingers to the emergency department will often have rings on their finger, which can be removed using a variety of simple non-operative techniques or by cutting the ring off and thus avoiding any long-term consequences. Very rarely, when there is a delay in presentation of these patients, serious consequences may proceed, including finger ischaemia, infection, tendon attrition or ultimately the need for surgical amputation. We present an unusual case of patient with psychiatric illness who presented late with a ring that had embedded upon the volar aspect of the index finger. The difficulties faced by the emergency care practitioners in such circumstances, the consequences of rings acting as a tourniquet and strategies for removal of rings on swollen fingers are highlighted.

Intramanual and intermanual transfer of the curvature aftereffect

PubMed Central

Duijndam, Maarten J. A.; Ketels, Myrna F. M.; Wilbers, Martine T. J. M.; Zwijsen, Sandra A.; Kappers, Astrid M. L.

2008-01-01

The existence and transfer of a haptic curvature aftereffect was investigated to obtain a greater insight into neural representation of shape. The haptic curvature aftereffect is the phenomenon whereby a flat surface is judged concave if the preceding touched stimulus was convex and vice versa. Single fingers were used to touch the subsequently presented stimuli. A substantial aftereffect was found when the adaptation surface and the test surface were touched by the same finger. Furthermore, a partial, but significant transfer of the aftereffect was demonstrated between fingers of the same hand and between fingers of both the hands. These results provide evidence that curvature information is not only represented at a level that is directly connected to the mechanoreceptors of individual fingers but is also represented at a stage in the somatosensory cortex shared by the fingers of both the hands. PMID:18438649

[Symbrachydactyly].

PubMed

Samson, P; Mevio, G

2008-12-01

Symbrachydactyly is literally defined as a combination of short fingers with syndactyly. Blauth and Gekeler described four types of symbrachydactyly, ranging from simple shortness of middle phalanges to complete absence of digital rays. In type I (short finger) function is quite normal and syndactyly release is usually the only procedure needed. In type II (cleft hand), presence of a thumb and at least one ulnar finger allows pinch function. Surgical treatment, when needed, consists in separation of webbed fingers, resection of nonfunctional digital stumps, or finger translocation. In type III (monodactyly) all long fingers are absent. Pinch function can be created between the thumb and a toe transfer in ulnar location. Bone lengthening is an alternative procedure to create a pincer. Surgery is not always indicated in type IV (peromely) as function can only be restored if active motion is already present at wrist or carpometacarpal levels.

Design and control of five fingered under-actuated robotic hand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahoo, Biswojit; Parida, Pramod Kumar

2018-04-01

Now a day's research regarding humanoid robots and its application in different fields (industry, household, rehabilitation and exploratory) is going on entire the globe. Among which a challenging topic is to design a dexterous robotic hand which not only can perform as a hand of a robot but also can be used in re habilitation. The basic key concern is a dexterous robot hand which can be able to mimic the function of biological hand to perform different operations. This thesis work is regarding design and control of a under-actuated robotic hand consisting of four under actuated fingers (index finger, middle finger, little finger and ring finger ) , a thumb and a dexterous palm which can copy the motions and grasp type of human hand which having 21degrees of freedom instead of 25Degree Of Freedom.

Affiliative stimuli as primers to prosocial predispositions.

PubMed

Souza, Gabriela Guerra Leal; Pereira, Mirtes Garcia; Vila, Jaime; Oliveira, Leticia; Volchan, Eliane

2012-03-01

Affiliative stimuli are pleasant and highly biologically relevant. Affiliative cues are thought to elicit a prosocial predisposition. Here affiliative and neutral pictures were exposed prior to a reaction time task which consisted in responding to a visual target. Half the participants responded with finger-flexion, a movement frequently involved in prosocial activities. The other half responded with finger extension, a less prosocially compatible movement. Results showed that under the exposure to affiliative pictures, as compared to neutral ones, participants who used finger flexion were faster, while those using finger extension were slower. Performance benefits to the task, when flexing the finger, together with performance costs, when extending it, indicate the relevance of movement compatibility to the context. These findings put forward a possible link between affiliative primers and motor preparation to facilitate a repertoire of movements related to prosocial predispositions including finger flexion.

Transfer of piano practice in fast performance of skilled finger movements.

PubMed

Furuya, Shinichi; Nakamura, Ayumi; Nagata, Noriko

2013-11-01

Transfer of learning facilitates the efficient mastery of various skills without practicing all possible sensory-motor repertoires. The present study assessed whether motor practice at a submaximal speed, which is typical in sports and music performance, results in an increase in a maximum speed of finger movements of trained and untrained skills. Piano practice of sequential finger movements at a submaximal speed over days progressively increased the maximum speed of trained movements. This increased maximum speed of finger movements was maintained two months after the practice. The learning transferred within the hand to some extent, but not across the hands. The present study confirmed facilitation of fast finger movements following a piano practice at a submaximal speed. In addition, the findings indicated the intra-manual transfer effects of piano practice on the maximum speed of skilled finger movements.

Finger-Based Numerical Skills Link Fine Motor Skills to Numerical Development in Preschoolers.

PubMed

Suggate, Sebastian; Stoeger, Heidrun; Fischer, Ursula

2017-12-01

Previous studies investigating the association between fine-motor skills (FMS) and mathematical skills have lacked specificity. In this study, we test whether an FMS link to numerical skills is due to the involvement of finger representations in early mathematics. We gave 81 pre-schoolers (mean age of 4 years, 9 months) a set of FMS measures and numerical tasks with and without a specific finger focus. Additionally, we used receptive vocabulary and chronological age as control measures. FMS linked more closely to finger-based than to nonfinger-based numerical skills even after accounting for the control variables. Moreover, the relationship between FMS and numerical skill was entirely mediated by finger-based numerical skills. We concluded that FMS are closely related to early numerical skill development through finger-based numerical counting that aids the acquisition of mathematical mental representations.

Dexterity with numbers: rTMS over left angular gyrus disrupts finger gnosis and number processing.

PubMed

Rusconi, Elena; Walsh, Vincent; Butterworth, Brian

2005-01-01

Since the original description of Gerstmann's syndrome with its four cardinal symptoms, among which are finger agnosia and acalculia, the neuro-cognitive relationship between fingers and calculation has been debated. We asked our participants to perform four different tasks, two of which involved fingers and the other two involving numbers, during repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the posterior parietal lobe of either hemisphere. In the finger tasks, they were required to transform a tactile stimulus randomly delivered on one of their fingers into a speeded key-press response either with the same or with the homologous finger on the opposite hand. In the numerical tasks, they were asked to perform a magnitude or a parity matching on pairs of single digits, in the context of arithmetically related or unrelated numerical primes. In accordance with the original anatomical hypothesis put forward by Gerstmann [Gerstmann, J. (1924). Fingeragnosie: eine umschriebene Stoerung der Orienterung am eigenen Koerper. Wiener clinische Wochenschrift, 37, 1010-12], we found that rTMS over the left angular gyrus disrupted tasks requiring access to the finger schema and number magnitude processing in the same group of participants. In addition to the numerous studies which have employed special populations such as neurological patients and children, our data confirm the presence of a relationship between numbers and body knowledge in skilled adults who no longer use their fingers for solving simple arithmetical tasks.

Downward finger displacement distinguishes Parkinson disease dementia from Alzheimer disease.

PubMed

Lieberman, Abraham; Deep, Aman; Shi, Jiong; Dhall, Rohit; Shafer, Saulena; Moguel-Cobos, Guillermo; Dhillon, Ravneet; Frames, Christopher W; McCauley, Margaret

2018-02-01

Purpose/Aim of the study: To study finger displacement in patients with Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) and in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). We examined 56 patients with PDD and 35 with AD. Patients were examined during their regular outpatient clinic visit. Finger displacement was measured by observers not actively involved in the study using a creative grid ruler for all PDD and AD patients. Finger displacement was examined by asking patients to point their index fingers toward the grid ruler with the nails facing upward. Patients were asked to maintain the pointing position for 15 s. After 15 s, patients were asked to close their eyes for another 15 s while maintaining the same position. A positive result was downward index finger displacement of ≥5 cm within the 15-second time window with eyes closed. Of the 56 PDD patients, 53 had bilateral finger displacement of >5 cm. In comparison, of the 35 AD patients, only 1 patient had minimal displacement. Results of the non-invasive finger displacement test may provide insight, on an outpatient basis, of the integrity of subcortical-cortical circuits. Downward finger displacement, especially bilateral downward displacement, may signal the extensive disruption of subcortical-cortical circuits that occurs in PDD patients. AChE: acetylcholinesterase; AD: Alzheimer disease; DLB: dementia with Lewy bodies; ET: essential tremor; MDS-UPDRS: Movement Disorder Society-sponsored Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale; MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination; PD: Parkinson disease; PDD: Parkinson disease dementia.

Difference of motor overflow depending on the impaired or unimpaired hand in stroke patients.

PubMed

Kim, Yushin; Kim, Woo-Sub; Shim, Jae Kun; Suh, Dong Won; Kim, TaeYeong; Yoon, BumChul

2015-02-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the patterns of contralateral motor overflow (i.e. mirror movement) between the homologous body parts on the right and left side, in stroke patients during single-finger and multi-finger maximum force production tasks. Forty subjects, including stroke (n=20) and normal subjects (n=20), participated in this study. The stroke subjects maximally pressed force sensors with their fingers in a flexed position using a single (index, middle, ring, or little) or all fingers (all 4 fingers) using the impaired (IH) or unimpaired (UIH) hand, while the non-patient subjects used their right hands for the same tasks. The maximal voluntary forces in the ipsilateral and unintended pressing forces of each contralateral finger were recorded during the tasks. The magnitude of motor overflow to the contralateral side was calculated using the index of contralateral independence (CI). During the single finger tasks, the finger CI was significantly decreased in the UIH (91%) compared with that in the IH (99%) or normal hands (99%). Likewise, the multiple finger tasks showed that the CI was significantly lower in the UIH (84%) compared with that in the IH (96%) or normal hands (99%). However, the maximal forces were significantly lower in the IH relative to those in the UIH and normal hands. These data demonstrate that stroke patients have greater motor overflow from the UIH to the IH. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hand kinematics of piano playing

PubMed Central

Flanders, Martha; Soechting, John F.

2011-01-01

Dexterous use of the hand represents a sophisticated sensorimotor function. In behaviors such as playing the piano, it can involve strong temporal and spatial constraints. The purpose of this study was to determine fundamental patterns of covariation of motion across joints and digits of the human hand. Joint motion was recorded while 5 expert pianists played 30 excerpts from musical pieces, which featured ∼50 different tone sequences and fingering. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis using an expectation-maximization algorithm revealed that joint velocities could be categorized into several patterns, which help to simplify the description of the movements of the multiple degrees of freedom of the hand. For the thumb keystroke, two distinct patterns of joint movement covariation emerged and they depended on the spatiotemporal patterns of the task. For example, the thumb-under maneuver was clearly separated into two clusters based on the direction of hand translation along the keyboard. While the pattern of the thumb joint velocities differed between these clusters, the motions at the metacarpo-phalangeal and proximal-phalangeal joints of the four fingers were more consistent. For a keystroke executed with one of the fingers, there were three distinct patterns of joint rotations, across which motion at the striking finger was fairly consistent, but motion of the other fingers was more variable. Furthermore, the amount of movement spillover of the striking finger to the adjacent fingers was small irrespective of the finger used for the keystroke. These findings describe an unparalleled amount of independent motion of the fingers. PMID:21880938

Contactless optical scanning of fingerprints with 180 degrees view.

PubMed

Palma, J; Liessner, C; Mil'shtein, S

2006-01-01

Fingerprint recognition technology is an integral part of criminal investigations. It is the basis for the design of numerous security systems in both the private and public sectors. In a recent study emulating the fingerprinting procedure with widely used optical scanners, it was found that, on average, the distance between ridges decreases about 20% when a finger is positioned on a scanner. Using calibrated silicon pressure sensors, the authors scanned the distribution of pressure across a finger, pixel by pixel, and also generated maps of the average pressure distribution during fingerprinting. Controlled loading of a finger demonstrated that it is impossible to reproduce the same distribution of pressure across a given finger during repeated fingerprinting procedures. Based on this study, a novel method of scanning the fingerprint with more than a 180 degrees view was developed. Using a camera rotated around the finger, small slices of the entire image of the finger were acquired. Equal sized slices of the image were processed with a special program assembling a more than 180 degrees view of the finger. Comparison of two images of the same fingerprint, namely the registered and actual images, could be performed by a new algorithm based on the symmetry of the correlation function. The novel method is the first contactless optical scanning technique to view 180 degrees of a fingerprint without moving the finger. In a machine which is under design, it is expected that the full view of one finger would be acquired in about a second.

Bioinspired Robotic Fingers Based on Pneumatic Actuator and 3D Printing of Smart Material.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Chen, Yonghua; Li, Yingtian; Chen, Michael Z Q; Wei, Ying

2017-06-01

In this article, we have proposed a novel robotic finger design principle aimed to address two challenges in soft pneumatic grippers-the controllability of the stiffness and the controllability of the bending position. The proposed finger design is composed of a 3D printed multimaterial substrate and a soft pneumatic actuator. The substrate has four polylactic acid (PLA) segments interlocked with three shape memory polymer (SMP) joints, inspired by bones and joints in human fingers. By controlling the thermal energy of an SMP joint, the stiffness of the joints is modulated due to the dramatic change in SMP elastic modulus around its glass transition temperature (T g ). When SMP joints are heated above T g , they exhibit very small stiffness, allowing the finger to easily bend around the SMP joints if the attached soft actuator is actuated. When there is no force from the soft actuator, shape recovery stress in SMP contributes to the finger's shape restoration. Since each joint's rotation can be individually controlled, the position control of the finger is made possible. Experimental analysis has been conducted to show the finger's variable stiffness and the result is compared with the analytical values. It is found that the stiffness ratio can be 24.9 times for a joint at room temperature (20°C) and at an elevated temperature of 60°C when air pressure p of the soft actuator is turned off. Finally, a gripper composed of two fingers is fabricated for demonstration.

Higher heritabilities for gait components than for overall gait scores may improve mobility in ducks.

PubMed

Duggan, Brendan M; Rae, Anne M; Clements, Dylan N; Hocking, Paul M

2017-05-02

Genetic progress in selection for greater body mass and meat yield in poultry has been associated with an increase in gait problems which are detrimental to productivity and welfare. The incidence of suboptimal gait in breeding flocks is controlled through the use of a visual gait score, which is a subjective assessment of walking ability of each bird. The subjective nature of the visual gait score has led to concerns over its effectiveness in reducing the incidence of suboptimal gait in poultry through breeding. The aims of this study were to assess the reliability of the current visual gait scoring system in ducks and to develop a more objective method to select for better gait. Experienced gait scorers assessed short video clips of walking ducks to estimate the reliability of the current visual gait scoring system. Kendall's coefficients of concordance between and within observers were estimated at 0.49 and 0.75, respectively. In order to develop a more objective scoring system, gait components were visually scored on more than 4000 pedigreed Pekin ducks and genetic parameters were estimated for these components. Gait components, which are a more objective measure, had heritabilities that were as good as, or better than, those of the overall visual gait score. Measurement of gait components is simpler and therefore more objective than the standard visual gait score. The recording of gait components can potentially be automated, which may increase accuracy further and may improve heritability estimates. Genetic correlations were generally low, which suggests that it is possible to use gait components to select for an overall improvement in both economic traits and gait as part of a balanced breeding programme.

On the Origins of Suboptimality in Human Probabilistic Inference

PubMed Central

Acerbi, Luigi; Vijayakumar, Sethu; Wolpert, Daniel M.

2014-01-01

Humans have been shown to combine noisy sensory information with previous experience (priors), in qualitative and sometimes quantitative agreement with the statistically-optimal predictions of Bayesian integration. However, when the prior distribution becomes more complex than a simple Gaussian, such as skewed or bimodal, training takes much longer and performance appears suboptimal. It is unclear whether such suboptimality arises from an imprecise internal representation of the complex prior, or from additional constraints in performing probabilistic computations on complex distributions, even when accurately represented. Here we probe the sources of suboptimality in probabilistic inference using a novel estimation task in which subjects are exposed to an explicitly provided distribution, thereby removing the need to remember the prior. Subjects had to estimate the location of a target given a noisy cue and a visual representation of the prior probability density over locations, which changed on each trial. Different classes of priors were examined (Gaussian, unimodal, bimodal). Subjects' performance was in qualitative agreement with the predictions of Bayesian Decision Theory although generally suboptimal. The degree of suboptimality was modulated by statistical features of the priors but was largely independent of the class of the prior and level of noise in the cue, suggesting that suboptimality in dealing with complex statistical features, such as bimodality, may be due to a problem of acquiring the priors rather than computing with them. We performed a factorial model comparison across a large set of Bayesian observer models to identify additional sources of noise and suboptimality. Our analysis rejects several models of stochastic behavior, including probability matching and sample-averaging strategies. Instead we show that subjects' response variability was mainly driven by a combination of a noisy estimation of the parameters of the priors, and by variability in the decision process, which we represent as a noisy or stochastic posterior. PMID:24945142

Development of Sub-optimal Airway Protocols for the International Space Station (ISS) by the Medical Operation Support Team (MOST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polk, James D.; Parazynski, Scott; Kelly, Scott; Hurst, Victor, IV; Doerr, Harold K.

2007-01-01

Airway management techniques are necessary to establish and maintain a patent airway while treating a patient undergoing respiratory distress. There are situations where such settings are suboptimal, thus causing the caregiver to adapt to these suboptimal conditions. Such occurrences are no exception aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As a result, the NASA flight surgeon (FS) and NASA astronaut cohorts must be ready to adapt their optimal airway management techniques for suboptimal situations. Based on previous work conducted by the Medical Operation Support Team (MOST) and other investigators, the MOST had members of both the FS and astronaut cohorts evaluate two oral airway insertion techniques for the Intubating Laryngeal Mask Airway (ILMA) to determine whether either technique is sufficient to perform in suboptimal conditions within a microgravity environment. Methods All experiments were conducted in a simulated microgravity environment provided by parabolic flight aboard DC-9 aircraft. Each participant acted as a caregiver and was directed to attempt both suboptimal ILMA insertion techniques following a preflight instruction session on the day of the flight and a demonstration of the technique by an anesthesiologist physician in the simulated microgravity environment aboard the aircraft. Results Fourteen participants conducted 46 trials of the suboptimal ILMA insertion techniques. Overall, 43 of 46 trials (94%) conducted were properly performed based on criteria developed by the MOST and other investigators. Discussion The study demonstrated the use of airway management techniques in suboptimal conditions relating to space flight. Use of these techniques will provide a crew with options for using the ILMA to manage airway issues aboard the ISS. Although it is understood that the optimal method for patient care during space flight is to have both patient and caregiver restrained, these techniques provide a needed backup should conditions not present themselves in an ideal manner.

Instrumented Glove Measures Positions Of Fingers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.

1993-01-01

Glove instrumented with flat membrane potentiometers to obtain crude measurements of relative positions of fingers. Resistance of each potentiometer varies with position of associated finger; translator circuit connected to each potentiometer converts analog reading to 1 of 10 digital levels. Digitized outputs from all fingers fed to indicating, recording, and/or data-processing equipment. Gloves and circuits intended for use in biomedical research, training in critical manual tasks, and other specialized applications.

Classification of finger movements by using the ultra-wide band radar.

PubMed

Eldosoky, Mohamed A A

2010-12-01

The coding system of finger movements depends on the differences in the characteristics of the muscles that are responsible for these movements. The ability of ultra-wide band (UWB) radar for use as a tool for identifying the movements of each finger is presented. This will facilitate the ability of the UWB radar in designing a coding system for the movement of fingers of each hand.

Prosthetic Hand With Two Gripping Fingers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norton, William E.; Belcher, Jewell B.; Vest, Thomas W.; Carden, James R.

1993-01-01

Prosthetic hand developed for amputee who retains significant portion of forearm. Outer end of device is end effector including two fingers, one moved by rotating remaining part of forearm about its longitudinal axis. Main body of end effector is end member supporting fingers, roller bearing assembly, and rack-and-pinion mechanism. Advantage of rack-and-pinion mechanism enables user to open or close gap between fingers with precision and force.

The speech focus position effect on jaw-finger coordination in a pointing task.

PubMed

Rochet-Capellan, Amélie; Laboissière, Rafael; Galván, Arturo; Schwartz, Jean-Luc

2008-12-01

This article investigates jaw-finger coordination in a task involving pointing to a target while naming it with a CVCV (e.g., /papa/) versus CVCV (e.g., /papa/) word. According to the authors' working hypothesis, the pointing apex (gesture extremum) would be synchronized with the apex of the jaw-opening gesture corresponding to the stressed syllable. Jaw and finger motions were recorded using Optotrak (Northern Digital, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). The effects of stress position on jaw-finger coordination were tested across different target positions (near vs. far) and different consonants in the target word (/t/ vs. /p/). Twenty native Portuguese Brazilian speakers participated in the experiment (all conditions). Jaw response starts earlier, and finger-target alignment period is longer for CVCV words than for CVCV ones. The apex of the jaw-opening gesture for the stressed syllable appears synchronized with the onset of the finger-target alignment period (corresponding to the pointing apex) for CVCV words and with the offset of that period for CVCV words. For both stress conditions, the stressed syllable occurs within the finger-target alignment period because of tight finger-jaw coordination. This result is interpreted as evidence for an anchoring of the speech deictic site (part of speech that shows) in the pointing gesture.

Zinc Finger Independent Genome-Wide Binding of Sp2 Potentiates Recruitment of Histone-Fold Protein Nf-y Distinguishing It from Sp1 and Sp3

PubMed Central

Finkernagel, Florian; Stiewe, Thorsten; Nist, Andrea; Suske, Guntram

2015-01-01

Transcription factors are grouped into families based on sequence similarity within functional domains, particularly DNA-binding domains. The Specificity proteins Sp1, Sp2 and Sp3 are paradigmatic of closely related transcription factors. They share amino-terminal glutamine-rich regions and a conserved carboxy-terminal zinc finger domain that can bind to GC rich motifs in vitro. All three Sp proteins are ubiquitously expressed; yet they carry out unique functions in vivo raising the question of how specificity is achieved. Crucially, it is unknown whether they bind to distinct genomic sites and, if so, how binding site selection is accomplished. In this study, we have examined the genomic binding patterns of Sp1, Sp2 and Sp3 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts by ChIP-seq. Sp1 and Sp3 essentially occupy the same promoters and localize to GC boxes. The genomic binding pattern of Sp2 is different; Sp2 primarily localizes at CCAAT motifs. Consistently, re-expression of Sp2 and Sp3 mutants in corresponding knockout MEFs revealed strikingly different modes of genomic binding site selection. Most significantly, while the zinc fingers dictate genomic binding of Sp3, they are completely dispensable for binding of Sp2. Instead, the glutamine-rich amino-terminal region is sufficient for recruitment of Sp2 to its target promoters in vivo. We have identified the trimeric histone-fold CCAAT box binding transcription factor Nf-y as the major partner for Sp2-chromatin interaction. Nf-y is critical for recruitment of Sp2 to co-occupied regulatory elements. Equally, Sp2 potentiates binding of Nf-y to shared sites indicating the existence of an extensive Sp2-Nf-y interaction network. Our results unveil strikingly different recruitment mechanisms of Sp1/Sp2/Sp3 transcription factor members uncovering an unexpected layer of complexity in their binding to chromatin in vivo. PMID:25793500

Keep your fingers off my DNA: protein-protein interactions mediated by C2H2 zinc finger domains.

PubMed

Brayer, Kathryn J; Segal, David J

2008-01-01

Cys2-His2 (C2H2) zinc finger domains (ZFs) were originally identified as DNA-binding domains, and uncharacterized domains are typically assumed to function in DNA binding. However, a growing body of evidence suggests an important and widespread role for these domains in protein binding. There are even examples of zinc fingers that support both DNA and protein interactions, which can be found in well-known DNA-binding proteins such as Sp1, Zif268, and Ying Yang 1 (YY1). C2H2 protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are proving to be more abundant than previously appreciated, more plastic than their DNA-binding counterparts, and more variable and complex in their interactions surfaces. Here we review the current knowledge of over 100 C2H2 zinc finger-mediated PPIs, focusing on what is known about the binding surface, contributions of individual fingers to the interaction, and function. An accurate understanding of zinc finger biology will likely require greater insights into the potential protein interaction capabilities of C2H2 ZFs.

Finger crease pattern recognition using Legendre moments and principal component analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Rongfang; Lin, Tusheng

2007-03-01

The finger joint lines defined as finger creases and its distribution can identify a person. In this paper, we propose a new finger crease pattern recognition method based on Legendre moments and principal component analysis (PCA). After obtaining the region of interest (ROI) for each finger image in the pre-processing stage, Legendre moments under Radon transform are applied to construct a moment feature matrix from the ROI, which greatly decreases the dimensionality of ROI and can represent principal components of the finger creases quite well. Then, an approach to finger crease pattern recognition is designed based on Karhunen-Loeve (K-L) transform. The method applies PCA to a moment feature matrix rather than the original image matrix to achieve the feature vector. The proposed method has been tested on a database of 824 images from 103 individuals using the nearest neighbor classifier. The accuracy up to 98.584% has been obtained when using 4 samples per class for training. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach is feasible and effective in biometrics.

You can count on the motor cortex: Finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers

PubMed Central

Tschentscher, Nadja; Hauk, Olaf; Fischer, Martin H.; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

2012-01-01

The embodied cognition framework suggests that neural systems for perception and action are engaged during higher cognitive processes. In an event-related fMRI study, we tested this claim for the abstract domain of numerical symbol processing: is the human cortical motor system part of the representation of numbers, and is organization of numerical knowledge influenced by individual finger counting habits? Developmental studies suggest a link between numerals and finger counting habits due to the acquisition of numerical skills through finger counting in childhood. In the present study, digits 1 to 9 and the corresponding number words were presented visually to adults with different finger counting habits, i.e. left- and right-starters who reported that they usually start counting small numbers with their left and right hand, respectively. Despite the absence of overt hand movements, the hemisphere contralateral to the hand used for counting small numbers was activated when small numbers were presented. The correspondence between finger counting habits and hemispheric motor activation is consistent with an intrinsic functional link between finger counting and number processing. PMID:22133748

Custom-Made Finger Guard to Prevent Wire-Stick Injury to the Operator's Finger while Performing Intermaxillary Fixation.

PubMed

Kumaresan, Ramesh; Ponnusami, Karthikeyan; Karthikeyan, Priyadarshini

2014-12-01

The treatment of maxillofacial fractures involves different methods from bandages and splinting to methods of open reduction and internal fixation and usually requires control of the dental occlusion with the help of intermaxillary fixation (IMF). Different wiring techniques have been used to aid in IMF including placement of custom-made arch bars, eyelet etc. However, these wiring techniques are with a constant danger of trauma to the surgeon's fingers by their sharp ends. Though there exist a variety of commercially available barrier products and customized techniques to prevent wire-stick injury, cost factor, touch sensitivity, and comfort aspect restrain their acquirement and exploit. This technical note describes the construction of a simple and economical finger guard made of soft thermoplastic material that provides an added protection to fingers from wire-stick type injuries, and its flexible nature permits a comfortable finger flexion movement and acceptable touch sensitivity. This is a simple, economical, reusable puncture, and cut-resistance figure guard by which we can avoid wire-stick type injury to the operator's fingers during wiring technique.

Bioaccessible mineral content of malted finger millet (Eleusine coracana), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and barley (Hordeum vulgare).

PubMed

Platel, Kalpana; Eipeson, Sushma W; Srinivasan, Krishnapura

2010-07-14

Malted grains are extensively used in weaning and geriatric foods. Malting generally improves the nutrient content and digestibility of foods. The present investigation examined the influence of malting of finger millet, wheat, and barley on the bioaccessibility of iron, zinc, calcium, copper, and manganese. Malting increased the bioaccessibility of iron by >3-fold from the two varieties of finger millet and by >2-fold from wheat, whereas such a beneficial influence was not seen in barley. The bioaccessibility of zinc from wheat and barley increased to an extent of 234 and 100%, respectively, as a result of malting. However, malting reduced the bioaccessibility of zinc from finger millet. Malting marginally increased the bioaccessibility of calcium from white finger millet and wheat. Whereas malting did not exert any influence on bioaccessibility of copper from finger millet and wheat, it significantly decreased (75%) the same from barley. Malting did increase the bioaccessibility of manganese from brown finger millet (17%) and wheat (42%). Thus, malting could be an appropriate food-based strategy to derive iron and other minerals maximally from food grains.

Differential involvement of forearm muscles in ALS does not relate to sonographic structural nerve alterations.

PubMed

Schreiber, Stefanie; Schreiber, Frank; Debska-Vielhaber, Grazyna; Garz, Cornelia; Hensiek, Nathalie; Machts, Judith; Abdulla, Susanne; Dengler, Reinhard; Petri, Susanne; Nestor, Peter J; Vielhaber, Stefan

2018-07-01

We aimed to assess whether differential peripheral nerve involvement parallels dissociated forearm muscle weakness in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The analysis comprised 41 ALS patients and 18 age-, sex-, height- and weight-matched healthy controls. Strength of finger-extension and -flexion was measured using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. Radial, median and ulnar nerve sonographic cross-sectional area (CSA) and echogenicity, expressed by the hypoechoic fraction (HF), were determined. In ALS, finger extensors were significantly weaker than finger flexors. Sonographic evaluation revealed peripheral nerve atrophy, affecting various nerve segments in ALS. HF was unaltered. This systematic study confirmed a long-observed physical examination finding in ALS - weakness in finger-extension out of proportion to finger-flexion. This phenomenon was not related to any particular sonographic pattern of upper limb peripheral nerve alteration. In ALS, dissociated forearm muscle weakness could aid in the disease's diagnosis. Nerve ultrasound did not provide additional information on the differential involvement of finger-extension and finger-flexion strength. Copyright © 2018 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced left-finger deftness following dominant upper- and lower-limb amputation.

PubMed

Swanberg, Kelley M; Clark, Abigail M; Kline, Julia E; Yurkiewicz, Ilana R; Chan, Brenda L; Pasquina, Paul F; Heilman, Kenneth M; Tsao, Jack W

2011-09-01

After amputation, the sensorimotor cortex reorganizes, and these alterations might influence motor functions of the remaining extremities. The authors examined how amputation of the dominant or nondominant upper or lower extremity alters deftness in the intact limbs. The participants were 32 unilateral upper- or lower-extremity amputees and 6 controls. Upper-extremity deftness was tested by coin rotation (finger deftness) and pegboard (arm, hand, and finger deftness) tasks. Following right-upper- or right-lower-extremity amputation, the left hand's finger movements were defter than the left-hand fingers of controls. In contrast, with left-upper- or left-lower-extremity amputation, the right hand's finger performance was the same as that of the controls. Although this improvement might be related to increased use (practice), the finding that right-lower-extremity amputation also improved the left hand's finger deftness suggests an alternative mechanism. Perhaps in right-handed persons the left motor cortex inhibits the right side of the body more than the right motor cortex inhibits the left side, and the physiological changes induced by right-sided amputation reduced this inhibition.

Contribution of finger tracing to the recognition of Chinese characters.

PubMed

Yim-Ng, Y Y; Varley, R; Andrade, J

2000-01-01

Finger tracing is a simulation of the act of writing without the use of pen and paper. It is claimed to help in the processing of Chinese characters, possibly by providing additional motor coding. In this study, blindfolded subjects were equally good at identifying Chinese characters and novel visual stimuli through passive movements made with the index finger of the preferred hand and those made with the last finger of that hand. This suggests that finger tracing provides a relatively high level of coding specific to individual characters, but non-specific to motor effectors. Beginning each stroke from the same location, i.e. removing spatial information, impaired recognition of the familiar characters and the novel nonsense figures. Passively tracing the strokes in a random sequence also impaired recognition of the characters. These results therefore suggest that the beneficial effect of finger tracing on writing or recall of Chinese characters is mediated by sequence and spatial information embedded in the motor movements, and that proprioceptive channel may play a part in mediating visuo-spatial information. Finger tracing may be a useful strategy for remediation of Chinese language impairments.

CRISPR/Cas9-Advancing Orthopoxvirus Genome Editing for Vaccine and Vector Development.

PubMed

Okoli, Arinze; Okeke, Malachy I; Tryland, Morten; Moens, Ugo

2018-01-22

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology is revolutionizing genome editing approaches. Its high efficiency, specificity, versatility, flexibility, simplicity and low cost have made the CRISPR/Cas9 system preferable to other guided site-specific nuclease-based systems such as TALENs (Transcription Activator-like Effector Nucleases) and ZFNs (Zinc Finger Nucleases) in genome editing of viruses. CRISPR/Cas9 is presently being applied in constructing viral mutants, preventing virus infections, eradicating proviral DNA, and inhibiting viral replication in infected cells. The successful adaptation of CRISPR/Cas9 to editing the genome of Vaccinia virus paves the way for its application in editing other vaccine/vector-relevant orthopoxvirus (OPXV) strains. Thus, CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to resolve some of the major hindrances to the development of OPXV-based recombinant vaccines and vectors, including sub-optimal immunogenicity; transgene and genome instability; reversion of attenuation; potential of spread of transgenes to wildtype strains and close contacts, which are important biosafety and risk assessment considerations. In this article, we review the published literature on the application of CRISPR/Cas9 in virus genome editing and discuss the potentials of CRISPR/Cas9 in advancing OPXV-based recombinant vaccines and vectors. We also discuss the application of CRISPR/Cas9 in combating viruses of clinical relevance, the limitations of CRISPR/Cas9 and the current strategies to overcome them.

The role of auditory feedback in music-supported stroke rehabilitation: A single-blinded randomised controlled intervention.

PubMed

van Vugt, F T; Kafczyk, T; Kuhn, W; Rollnik, J D; Tillmann, B; Altenmüller, E

2016-01-01

Learning to play musical instruments such as piano was previously shown to benefit post-stroke motor rehabilitation. Previous work hypothesised that the mechanism of this rehabilitation is that patients use auditory feedback to correct their movements and therefore show motor learning. We tested this hypothesis by manipulating the auditory feedback timing in a way that should disrupt such error-based learning. We contrasted a patient group undergoing music-supported therapy on a piano that emits sounds immediately (as in previous studies) with a group whose sounds are presented after a jittered delay. The delay was not noticeable to patients. Thirty-four patients in early stroke rehabilitation with moderate motor impairment and no previous musical background learned to play the piano using simple finger exercises and familiar children's songs. Rehabilitation outcome was not impaired in the jitter group relative to the normal group. Conversely, some clinical tests suggests the jitter group outperformed the normal group. Auditory feedback-based motor learning is not the beneficial mechanism of music-supported therapy. Immediate auditory feedback therapy may be suboptimal. Jittered delay may increase efficacy of the proposed therapy and allow patients to fully benefit from motivational factors of music training. Our study shows a novel way to test hypotheses concerning music training in a single-blinded way, which is an important improvement over existing unblinded tests of music interventions.

Redundant roles of PRDM family members in zebrafish craniofacial development.

PubMed

Ding, Hai-Lei; Clouthier, David E; Artinger, Kristin B

2013-01-01

PRDM proteins are evolutionary conserved Zn-Finger transcription factors that share a characteristic protein domain organization. Previous studies have shown that prdm1a is required for the specification and differentiation of neural crest cells in the zebrafish. Here we examine other members of this family, specifically prdm3, 5, and 16, in the differentiation of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton. prdm3 and prdm16 are strongly expressed in the pharyngeal arches, while prdm5 is expressed specifically in the area of the forming neurocranium. Knockdown of prdm3 and prdm16 results in a reduction in the neural crest markers dlx2a and barx1 and defects in both the viscerocranium and the neurocranium. The knockdown of prdm3 and prdm16 in combination is additive in the neurocranium, but not in the viscerocranium. Injection of sub-optimal doses of prdm1a with prdm3 or prdm16 Morpholinos together leads to more severe phenotypes in the viscerocranium and neurocranium. prdm5 mutants have defects in the neurocranium and prdm1a and prdm5 double mutants also show more severe phenotypes. Overall, our data reveal that prdm3, 5, and 16 are involved in the zebrafish craniofacial development and that prdm1a may interact with prdm3, 5, and 16 in the formation of the craniofacial skeleton in zebrafish. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Redundant Roles of PRDM Family Members in Zebrafish Craniofacial Development

PubMed Central

Ding, Hai-Lei; Clouthier, David E.; Artinger, Kristin B.

2014-01-01

Background PRDM proteins are evolutionary conserved Zn-Finger transcription factors that share a characteristic protein domain organization. Previous studies have shown that prdm1a is required for the specification and differentiation of neural crest cells in the zebrafish. Results Here we examine other members of this family, specifically prdm3, 5, and 16, in the differentiation of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton. prdm3 and prdm16 are strongly expressed in the pharyngeal arches, while prdm5 is expressed specifically in the area of the forming neurocranium. Knockdown of prdm3 and prdm16 results in a reduction in the neural crest markers dlx2a and barx1 and defects in both the viscerocranium and the neurocranium. The knockdown of prdm3 and prdm16 in combination is additive in the neurocranium, but not in the viscerocranium. Injection of sub-optimal doses of prdm1a with prdm3 or prdm16 Morpholinos together leads to more severe phenotypes in the viscerocranium and neurocranium. prdm5 mutants have defects in the neurocranium and prdm1a and prdm5 double mutants also show more severe phenotypes. Conclusions Overall, our data reveal that prdm3, 5, and 16 are involved in the zebrafish craniofacial development and that prdm1a may interact with prdm3, 5, and 16 in the formation of the craniofacial skeleton in zebrafish. PMID:23109401

Senseless acts as a binary switch during sensory organ precursor selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jafar-Nejad, Hamed; Acar, Melih; Nolo, Riitta; Lacin, Haluk; Pan, Hongling; Parkhurst, Susan M.; Bellen, Hugo J.

2003-01-01

During sensory organ precursor (SOP) specification, a single cell is selected from a proneural cluster of cells. Here, we present evidence that Senseless (Sens), a zinc-finger transcription factor, plays an important role in this process. We show that Sens is directly activated by proneural proteins in the presumptive SOPs and a few cells surrounding the SOP in most tissues. In the cells that express low levels of Sens, it acts in a DNA-binding-dependent manner to repress transcription of proneural genes. In the presumptive SOPs that express high levels of Sens, it acts as a transcriptional activator and synergizes with proneural proteins. We therefore propose that Sens acts as a binary switch that is fundamental to SOP selection.

Neighboring Extremal Guidance for Systems with Piecewise Linear Control Using Time As the Reference Variable

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-05-01

obtained to provide a nominal control history . The guidance law is found by minimizing the V second variation of the suboptimal trajectory...deviations from the suboptimal trajectory to required changes in the nominal control history . The deviations from the suboptimal trajectory, used together...with the precomputed gains, determines the change in the nominal control history required to meet the final constraints while minimizing the change in

Luciferase-Zinc-Finger System for the Rapid Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria.

PubMed

Shi, Chu; Xu, Qing; Ge, Yue; Jiang, Ling; Huang, He

2017-08-09

Rapid and reliable detection of pathogenic bacteria is crucial for food safety control. Here, we present a novel luciferase-zinc finger system for the detection of pathogens that offers rapid and specific profiling. The system, which uses a zinc-finger protein domain to probe zinc finger recognition sites, was designed to bind the amplified conserved regions of 16S rDNA, and the obtained products were detected using a modified luciferase. The luciferase-zinc finger system not only maintained luciferase activity but also allowed the specific detection of different bacterial species, with a sensitivity as low as 10 copies and a linear range from 10 to 10 4 copies per microliter of the specific PCR product. Moreover, the system is robust and rapid, enabling the simultaneous detection of 6 species of bacteria in artificially contaminated samples with excellent accuracy. Thus, we envision that our luciferase-zinc finger system will have far-reaching applications.

Salt-Finger Convection in a Stratified Fluid Layer Induced by Thermal and Solutal Capillary Motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Chuan F.; Chan, Cho Lik

1996-01-01

Salt-finger convection in a double-diffusive system is a motion driven by the release of gravitational potential due to different diffusion rates. Normally, when the gravitational field is reduced, salt-finger convection together with other convective motions driven by buoyancy forces will be rapidly suppressed. However, because the destabilizing effect of the concentration gradient is amplified by the Lewis number, with values varying from 10(exp 2) for aqueous salt solutions to 10 (exp 4) for liquid metals, salt-finger convection may be generated at much reduced gravity levels. In the microgravity environment, the surface tension gradient assumes a dominant role in causing fluid motion. In this paper, we report on some experimental results showing the generation of salt-finger convection due to capillary motio on the surface of a stratified fluid layer. A numerical simulation is presented to show the cause of salt-finger convection.

Evaluation of Novel Design Strategies for Developing Zinc Finger Nucleases Tools for Treating Human Diseases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bach, Christian; Sherman, William; Pallis, Jani

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are associated with cell death and apoptosis by binding at countless undesired locations. This cytotoxicity is associated with the binding ability of engineered zinc finger domains to bind dissimilar DNA sequences with high affinity. In general, binding preferences of transcription factors are associated with significant degenerated diversity and complexity which convolutes the design and engineering of precise DNA binding domains. Evolutionary success of natural zinc finger proteins, however, evinces that nature created specific evolutionary traits and strategies, such as modularity and rank-specific recognition to cope with binding complexity that are critical for creating clinical viable toolsmore » to precisely modify the human genome. Our findings indicate preservation of general modularity and significant alteration of the rank-specific binding preferences of the three-finger binding domain of transcription factor SP1 when exchanging amino acids in the 2nd finger.« less

Human motor cortical activity recorded with Micro-ECoG electrodes, during individual finger movements.

PubMed

Wang, W; Degenhart, A D; Collinger, J L; Vinjamuri, R; Sudre, G P; Adelson, P D; Holder, D L; Leuthardt, E C; Moran, D W; Boninger, M L; Schwartz, A B; Crammond, D J; Tyler-Kabara, E C; Weber, D J

2009-01-01

In this study human motor cortical activity was recorded with a customized micro-ECoG grid during individual finger movements. The quality of the recorded neural signals was characterized in the frequency domain from three different perspectives: (1) coherence between neural signals recorded from different electrodes, (2) modulation of neural signals by finger movement, and (3) accuracy of finger movement decoding. It was found that, for the high frequency band (60-120 Hz), coherence between neighboring micro-ECoG electrodes was 0.3. In addition, the high frequency band showed significant modulation by finger movement both temporally and spatially, and a classification accuracy of 73% (chance level: 20%) was achieved for individual finger movement using neural signals recorded from the micro-ECoG grid. These results suggest that the micro-ECoG grid presented here offers sufficient spatial and temporal resolution for the development of minimally-invasive brain-computer interface applications.

Development of hand rehabilitation system for paralysis patient - universal design using wire-driven mechanism.

PubMed

Yamaura, Hiroshi; Matsushita, Kojiro; Kato, Ryu; Yokoi, Hiroshi

2009-01-01

We have developed a hand rehabilitation system for patients suffering from paralysis or contracture. It consists of two components: a hand rehabilitation machine, which moves human finger joints with motors, and a data glove, which provides control of the movement of finger joints attached to the rehabilitation machine. The machine is based on the arm structure type of hand rehabilitation machine; a motor indirectly moves a finger joint via a closed four-link mechanism. We employ a wire-driven mechanism and develop a compact design that can control all three joints (i.e., PIP, DIP and MP ) of a finger and that offers a wider range of joint motion than conventional systems. Furthermore, we demonstrate the hand rehabilitation process, finger joints of the left hand attached to the machine are controlled by the finger joints of the right hand wearing the data glove.

Development of a CPM Machine for Injured Fingers.

PubMed

Fu, Yili; Zhang, Fuxiang; Ma, Xin; Meng, Qinggang

2005-01-01

Human fingers are easy to be injured. A CPM machine is a mechanism based on the rehabilitation theory of continuous passive motion (CPM). To develop a CPM machine for the clinic application in the rehabilitation of injured fingers is a significant task. Therefore, based on the theories of evidence based medicine (EBM) and CPM, we've developed a set of biomimetic mechanism after modeling the motions of fingers and analyzing its kinematics and dynamics analysis. We also design an embedded operating system based on ARM (a kind of 32-bit RISC microprocessor). The equipment can achieve the precise control of moving scope of fingers, finger's force and speed. It can serves as a rational checking method and a way of assessment for functional rehabilitation of human hands. Now, the first prototype has been finished and will start the clinical testing in Harbin Medical University shortly.

Viscous fingering with partially miscible fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Xiaojing; Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis; Juanes, Ruben

2017-10-01

Viscous fingering—the fluid-mechanical instability that takes place when a low-viscosity fluid displaces a high-viscosity fluid—has traditionally been studied under either fully miscible or fully immiscible fluid systems. Here we study the impact of partial miscibility (a common occurrence in practice) on the fingering dynamics. Through a careful design of the thermodynamic free energy of a binary mixture, we develop a phase-field model of fluid-fluid displacements in a Hele-Shaw cell for the general case in which the two fluids have limited (but nonzero) solubility into one another. We show, by means of high-resolution numerical simulations, that partial miscibility exerts a powerful control on the degree of fingering: fluid dissolution hinders fingering while fluid exsolution enhances fingering. We also show that, as a result of the interplay between compositional exchange and the hydrodynamic pattern-forming process, stronger fingering promotes the system to approach thermodynamic equilibrium more quickly.

Nonlinear unstable viscous fingers in Hele--Shaw flows. I. Experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kopf-Sill, A.R.; Homsy, G.M.

1988-02-01

Post-instability viscous fingering in rectilinear flow in a Hele--Shaw cell has been studied experimentally. Of particular interest was the characterization of the range of length scales associated with tip splitting, over a reasonably wide range of parameters. A digital imaging system was used to record the patterns as a function of time, which allowed properties such as the tip velocity, finger width, perimeter, and area to be studied as functions of time and capillary number. The tip velocity was observed to be approximately constant regardless of the occurrence of splitting events, and the average finger width decreased as the degreemore » of supercriticality increased. Quantitative measures of the fact that there is a limit to the complexity of viscous fingers are provided, and that over the range of parameters studied, no evidence for fractal fingering exists. A discussion of the dynamics of tip splitting explains why this is so.« less

Transfer of piano practice in fast performance of skilled finger movements

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Transfer of learning facilitates the efficient mastery of various skills without practicing all possible sensory-motor repertoires. The present study assessed whether motor practice at a submaximal speed, which is typical in sports and music performance, results in an increase in a maximum speed of finger movements of trained and untrained skills. Results Piano practice of sequential finger movements at a submaximal speed over days progressively increased the maximum speed of trained movements. This increased maximum speed of finger movements was maintained two months after the practice. The learning transferred within the hand to some extent, but not across the hands. Conclusions The present study confirmed facilitation of fast finger movements following a piano practice at a submaximal speed. In addition, the findings indicated the intra-manual transfer effects of piano practice on the maximum speed of skilled finger movements. PMID:24175946

Competition between anisotropic viscous fingers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pecelerowicz, M.; Budek, A.; Szymczak, P.

2014-09-01

We consider viscous fingers created by injection of low viscosity fluid into the network of capillaries initially filled with a more viscous fluid (motor oil). Due to the anisotropy of the system and its geometry, such a setup promotes the formation of long-and-thin fingers which then grow and compete for the available flow, interacting through the pressure field. The interaction between the fingers is analyzed using the branched growth formalism of Halsey and Leibig (Phys. Rev. A 46, 7723, 1992) using a number of simple, analytically tractable models. It is shown that as soon as the fingers are allowed to capture the flow from one another, the fixed point appears in the phase space, corresponding to the asymptotic state in which the growth of one of the fingers in hindered by the other. The properties of phase space flows in such systems are shown to be remarkably insensitive to the details of the dynamics.

[Thumb reconstruction in emergency, not including replantation].

PubMed

Foucher, G

2005-10-01

Many articles have discussed secondary thumb reconstruction but only few have been devoted to acute reconstruction. We propose to artificially separate four circumstances: (i) the thumb is preservable without associated trauma of the fingers. The rule is not to burn the bridge of secondary reconstruction; (ii) the thumb is preservable but a neighboring finger is seriously injured and functionally condemned. The finger has to be used as a "bank" to borrow the necessary anatomical structures for reconstruction of the thumb; (iii) the thumb is not preservable and the lesions of a neighboring finger allow to use it for a pollicization. The difficult decision is between the immediate transposition or maintenance for secondary pollicization. Only finger devascularization is a clear indication for acute pollicization; (iv) Finally when the thumb is not preservable and there is no associate finger injury, it is difficult to assess and inform sufficiently the patient to take a decision. Secondary thumb reconstruction is the best choice.

Evaluation of Novel Design Strategies for Developing Zinc Finger Nucleases Tools for Treating Human Diseases

DOE PAGES

Bach, Christian; Sherman, William; Pallis, Jani; ...

2014-01-01

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are associated with cell death and apoptosis by binding at countless undesired locations. This cytotoxicity is associated with the binding ability of engineered zinc finger domains to bind dissimilar DNA sequences with high affinity. In general, binding preferences of transcription factors are associated with significant degenerated diversity and complexity which convolutes the design and engineering of precise DNA binding domains. Evolutionary success of natural zinc finger proteins, however, evinces that nature created specific evolutionary traits and strategies, such as modularity and rank-specific recognition to cope with binding complexity that are critical for creating clinical viable toolsmore » to precisely modify the human genome. Our findings indicate preservation of general modularity and significant alteration of the rank-specific binding preferences of the three-finger binding domain of transcription factor SP1 when exchanging amino acids in the 2nd finger.« less

Biophoton emission from fingernails and fingerprints of living human subjects.

PubMed

Kim, Tae Jin; Nam, Kyung Woon; Shin, Hak-Soo; Lee, Sung Muk; Yang, Jong Soo; Soh, Kwang-Sup

2002-01-01

Biophotons emitted from the center of fingernails and fingerprints from living humans are measured for twenty healthy subjects. We devised a dark box with a photo multiplier tube (H6180-01, Hamamatsu, Japan) whose spectral range is 300 nm to approximately 650 nm and a mount with a light-receiving hole of diameter 8 mm such that biophotons from the small circular area of nail or print of each finger are detected. Significantly more biophotons are emitted from fingernail than fingerprint for each finger of every subject. For thumb the average biophoton emission rate is 23.0 +/- 4.5 counts per second, and 17.2 +/- 2.0 counts per second from the nail, and print, respectively. There is a slight tendency that the little finger emits less than the other fingers. But some fingers emit far stronger than others, and it depends upon each individual subject which finger emits strongest.

Manipulation of viscous fingering in a radially tapered cell geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bongrand, Grégoire; Tsai, Peichun Amy

2018-06-01

When a more mobile fluid displaces another immiscible one in a porous medium, viscous fingering propagates with a partial sweep, which hinders oil recovery and soil remedy. We experimentally investigate the feasibility of tuning such fingering propagation in a nonuniform narrow passage with a radial injection, which is widely used in various applications. We show that a radially converging cell can suppress the common viscous fingering observed in a uniform passage, and a full sweep of the displaced fluid is then achieved. The injection flow rate Q can be further exploited to manipulate the viscous fingering instability. For a fixed gap gradient α , our experimental results show a full sweep at a small Q but partial displacement with fingering at a sufficient Q . Finally, by varying α , we identify and characterize the variation of the critical threshold between stable and unstable displacements. Our experimental results reveal good agreement with theoretical predictions by a linear stability analysis.

A neural network for recognizing movement patterns during repetitive self-paced movements of the fingers in opposition to the thumb.

PubMed

Van Vaerenbergh, J; Vranken, R; Briers, L; Briers, H

2001-11-01

A data glove is a typical input device to control a virtual environment. At the same time it measures movements of wrist and fingers. The purposes of this investigation were to assess the ability of BrainMaker, a neural network, to recognize movement patterns during an opposition task that consisted of repetitive self-paced movements of the fingers in opposition to the thumb. The neural network contained 56 inputs, 3 hidden layers of 20 neurons, and one output. The 5th glove '95 (5DT), a commercial glove especially designed for virtual reality games, was used for finger motion capture. The training of the neural network was successful for recognizing the thumb, the index finger and the ring finger movements during the repetitive self-paced movements and neural network performed well during testing.

Synthesis and SAR of highly potent and selective dopamine D3-receptor antagonists: variations on the 1H-pyrimidin-2-one theme.

PubMed

Geneste, Hervé; Amberg, Wilhelm; Backfisch, Gisela; Beyerbach, Armin; Braje, Wilfried M; Delzer, Jürgen; Haupt, Andreas; Hutchins, Charles W; King, Linda L; Sauer, Daryl R; Unger, Liliane; Wernet, Wolfgang

2006-04-01

In our efforts to further pursue one of the most selective dopamine D(3)-receptor antagonists reported to date, we now describe the synthesis and SAR of novel and highly selective dopamine D(3) antagonists based on a 1H-pyridin-2-one or on a urea scaffold. The most potent compounds exhibited K(i) values toward the D(3) receptor in the nano- to subnanomolar range and high selectivity versus the related D(2) dopamine receptor. Thus, 1H-pyridin-2-one 7b displays oral bioavailability (F=37%) as well as brain penetration (brain plasma ratio 3.7) in rat. Within the urea series, an excellent D(3) versus D(2) selectivity (>100-fold) could be achieved by removal of one NH group (compound 6), although bioavailability (rat) was suboptimal (F<10%). These data significantly enhance our understanding of the D(3) pharmacophore and are expected to lead to novel approaches for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Finger Length Ratio (2D:4D) in Central India and an Attempt to Verify Fraternal Birth Order Effect: A Population Based Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Maitra, Chaitali; Jha, Dilip Kumar; Biswas, Rakesh

2016-01-01

Introduction A normal physiology of a human being is not mere a series of functions occurring with specific intensities and timing. There are lot of factors that may change the normal physiological activity within normal limits. Finger length ratio is one of the markers of intrauterine androgen exposure and it is debated and contradicted by many authors. Digit ratio varies among the ethnicities. Many Indian studies show that there is considerable difference in finger length ratio in different population. Data regarding Central India was not found on extensive search. Aim To find out the finger length ratio and explore the birth order effect on finger length ratio among the first two successive born in the said population. Materials and Methods We conducted a survey on 1500 volunteer persons (800 male and 700 female) over two years of time. We measured the length of the index finger (2D) and ring finger (4D) of both the hands and asked about their birth order history to find out the digit ratio for Central India population and any existing correlation of the same with birth order. T Test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for the measure of significance and difference among the groups. The p< 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results Our study reports that, study population mean for right hand 2D:4D ratio was 0.976 (SD±0.031) and for left hand it was found to be 0.969 (SD±0.035). For males, mean finger length ratio for right hand was 0.967 (SD±0.033) and 0.963 (SD±0.037) for left hand. In females the mean Finger length ratio was 0.982 (SD±0.027) for right hand and 0.974 (SD±0.034) for the left hand respectively. Finger length ratio was found to be significantly less (p=0.03) in males for right hand. No significant (p=0.24) difference was observed for left hand. When assessed fraternal birth order effect among the eldest, second born with elder brother and second born with elder sister groups, no significant (p>0.05) variation for finger length ratio of right and left hands observed in both male and female population. Conclusion Our study reports that the finger length ratio (2D:4D) for Central India population did not show significant association between finger length ratio and fraternal birth order among the first two successive born. PMID:28208849

Role of protein structure and the role of individual fingers in zinc finger protein-DNA recognition: a molecular dynamics simulation study and free energy calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamed, Mazen Y.

2018-05-01

Molecular dynamics and MM_GBSA energy calculations on various zinc finger proteins containing three and four fingers bound to their target DNA gave insights into the role of each finger in the DNA binding process as part of the protein structure. The wild type Zif 268 (PDB code: 1AAY) gave a ΔG value of - 76.1 (14) kcal/mol. Zinc fingers ZF1, ZF2 and ZF3 were mutated in one experiment and in another experiment one finger was cut and the rest of the protein was studied for binding. The ΔΔG values for the Zinc Finger protein with both ZF1 and ZF2 mutated was + 80 kcal/mol, while mutating only ZF1 the ΔΔG value was + 52 kcal/mol (relative to the wild type). Cutting ZF3 and studying the protein consisting only of ZF1 linked to ZF2 gave a ΔΔG value of + 68 kcal/mol. Upon cutting ZF1, the resulting ZF2 linked to ZF3 protein gave a ΔΔG value of + 41 kcal/mol. The above results shed light on the importance of each finger in the binding process, especially the role of ZF1 as the anchoring finger followed in importance by ZF2 and ZF3. The energy difference between the binding of the wild type protein Zif268 (1AAY) and that for individual finger binding to DNA according to the formula: ΔΔGlinkers, otherstructuralfactors = ΔGzif268 - (ΔGF1+F2+F3) gave a value = - 44.5 kcal/mol. This stabilization can be attributed to the contribution of linkers and other structural factors in the intact protein in the DNA binding process. DNA binding energies of variant proteins of the wild type Zif268 which differ in their ZF1 amino acid sequence gave evidence of a good relationship between binding energy and recognition and specificity, this finding confirms the reported vital role of ZF1 in the ZF protein scanning and anchoring to the target DNA sequence. The role of hydrogen bonds in both specific and nonspecific amino acid-DNA contacts is discussed in relation to mutations. The binding energies of variant Zinc Finger proteins confirmed the role of ZF1 in the recognition, specificity and anchoring of the zinc finger protein to DNA.

Finger Length Ratio (2D:4D) in Central India and an Attempt to Verify Fraternal Birth Order Effect: A Population Based Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Maitra, Arjun; Maitra, Chaitali; Jha, Dilip Kumar; Biswas, Rakesh

2016-12-01

A normal physiology of a human being is not mere a series of functions occurring with specific intensities and timing. There are lot of factors that may change the normal physiological activity within normal limits. Finger length ratio is one of the markers of intrauterine androgen exposure and it is debated and contradicted by many authors. Digit ratio varies among the ethnicities. Many Indian studies show that there is considerable difference in finger length ratio in different population. Data regarding Central India was not found on extensive search. To find out the finger length ratio and explore the birth order effect on finger length ratio among the first two successive born in the said population. We conducted a survey on 1500 volunteer persons (800 male and 700 female) over two years of time. We measured the length of the index finger (2D) and ring finger (4D) of both the hands and asked about their birth order history to find out the digit ratio for Central India population and any existing correlation of the same with birth order. T Test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for the measure of significance and difference among the groups. The p< 0.05 was considered to be significant. Our study reports that, study population mean for right hand 2D:4D ratio was 0.976 (SD±0.031) and for left hand it was found to be 0.969 (SD±0.035). For males, mean finger length ratio for right hand was 0.967 (SD±0.033) and 0.963 (SD±0.037) for left hand. In females the mean Finger length ratio was 0.982 (SD±0.027) for right hand and 0.974 (SD±0.034) for the left hand respectively. Finger length ratio was found to be significantly less (p=0.03) in males for right hand. No significant (p=0.24) difference was observed for left hand. When assessed fraternal birth order effect among the eldest, second born with elder brother and second born with elder sister groups, no significant (p>0.05) variation for finger length ratio of right and left hands observed in both male and female population. Our study reports that the finger length ratio (2D:4D) for Central India population did not show significant association between finger length ratio and fraternal birth order among the first two successive born.

Role of protein structure and the role of individual fingers in zinc finger protein-DNA recognition: a molecular dynamics simulation study and free energy calculations.

PubMed

Hamed, Mazen Y

2018-05-03

Molecular dynamics and MM_GBSA energy calculations on various zinc finger proteins containing three and four fingers bound to their target DNA gave insights into the role of each finger in the DNA binding process as part of the protein structure. The wild type Zif 268 (PDB code: 1AAY) gave a ΔG value of - 76.1 (14) kcal/mol. Zinc fingers ZF1, ZF2 and ZF3 were mutated in one experiment and in another experiment one finger was cut and the rest of the protein was studied for binding. The ΔΔG values for the Zinc Finger protein with both ZF1 and ZF2 mutated was + 80 kcal/mol, while mutating only ZF1 the ΔΔG value was + 52 kcal/mol (relative to the wild type). Cutting ZF3 and studying the protein consisting only of ZF1 linked to ZF2 gave a ΔΔG value of + 68 kcal/mol. Upon cutting ZF1, the resulting ZF2 linked to ZF3 protein gave a ΔΔG value of + 41 kcal/mol. The above results shed light on the importance of each finger in the binding process, especially the role of ZF1 as the anchoring finger followed in importance by ZF2 and ZF3. The energy difference between the binding of the wild type protein Zif268 (1AAY) and that for individual finger binding to DNA according to the formula: ΔΔG linkers, otherstructuralfactors  = ΔG zif268  - (ΔG F1+F2+F3 ) gave a value = - 44.5 kcal/mol. This stabilization can be attributed to the contribution of linkers and other structural factors in the intact protein in the DNA binding process. DNA binding energies of variant proteins of the wild type Zif268 which differ in their ZF1 amino acid sequence gave evidence of a good relationship between binding energy and recognition and specificity, this finding confirms the reported vital role of ZF1 in the ZF protein scanning and anchoring to the target DNA sequence. The role of hydrogen bonds in both specific and nonspecific amino acid-DNA contacts is discussed in relation to mutations. The binding energies of variant Zinc Finger proteins confirmed the role of ZF1 in the recognition, specificity and anchoring of the zinc finger protein to DNA.

The role of tactile sensation in online and offline hierarchical control of multi-finger force synergy.

PubMed

Koh, Kyung; Kwon, Hyun Joon; Yoon, Bum Chul; Cho, Yongseok; Shin, Joon-Ho; Hahn, Jin-Oh; Miller, Ross H; Kim, Yoon Hyuk; Shim, Jae Kun

2015-09-01

The hand, one of the most versatile but mechanically redundant parts of the human body, must overcome imperfect motor commands and inherent noise in both the sensory and motor systems in order to produce desired motor actions. For example, it is nearly impossible to produce a perfectly consistent note during a single violin stroke or to produce the exact same note over multiple strokes, which we denote online and offline control, respectively. To overcome these challenges, the central nervous system synergistically integrates multiple sensory modalities and coordinates multiple motor effectors. Among these sensory modalities, tactile sensation plays an important role in manual motor tasks by providing hand-object contact information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of tactile feedback in individual finger actions and multi-finger interactions during constant force production tasks. We developed analytical techniques for the linear decomposition of the overall variance in the motor system in both online and offline control. We removed tactile feedback from the fingers and demonstrated that tactile sensors played a critical role in the online control of synergistic interactions between fingers. In contrast, the same sensors did not contribute to offline control. We also demonstrated that when tactile feedback was removed from the fingers, the combined motor output of individual fingers did not change while individual finger behaviors did. This finding supports the idea of hierarchical control where individual fingers at the lower level work together to stabilize the performance of combined motor output at the higher level.

Stability of multifinger action in different state spaces

PubMed Central

Reschechtko, Sasha; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M.

2014-01-01

We investigated stability of action by a multifinger system with three methods: analysis of intertrial variance, application of transient perturbations, and analysis of the system's motion in different state spaces. The “inverse piano” device was used to apply transient (lifting-and-lowering) perturbations to individual fingers during single- and two-finger accurate force production tasks. In each trial, the perturbation was applied either to a finger explicitly involved in the task or one that was not. We hypothesized that, in one-finger tasks, task-specific stability would be observed in the redundant space of finger forces but not in the nonredundant space of finger modes (commands to explicitly involved fingers). In two-finger tasks, we expected that perturbations applied to a nontask finger would not contribute to task-specific stability in mode space. In contrast to our expectations, analyses in both force and mode spaces showed lower stability in directions that did not change total force output compared with directions that did cause changes in total force. In addition, the transient perturbations led to a significant increase in the enslaving index. We consider these results within a theoretical scheme of control with referent body configurations organized hierarchically, using multiple few-to-many mappings organized in a synergic way. The observed volatility of enslaving, greater equifinality of total force compared with elemental variables, and large magnitude of motor equivalent motion in both force and mode spaces provide support for the concept of task-specific stability of performance and the existence of multiple neural loops, which ensure this stability. PMID:25253478

Blood glucose concentrations of arm and finger during dynamic glucose conditions.

PubMed

Szuts, Ete Z; Lock, J Paul; Malomo, Kenneth J; Anagnostopoulos, Althea

2002-01-01

We set out to determine the physiological difference between the capillary blood of the arm and finger with the greatest possible accuracy using the HemoCue B-glucose analyzer on subjects undergoing a meal tolerance test (MTT) or oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). MTT study was performed on 50 subjects who drank a liquid meal (Ensure, 40 g of carbohydrates) and who were tested on the arm and finger every 30 min for up to 4 h. OGTT study was performed on 12 subjects who drank a 100-g glucose solution (Glucola) and were tested on the arm and finger every 15 min during the first hour and thereafter every 30 min for up to 3 h. Average percent glucose difference between arm and finger reached a maximal value about 1 h following glucose load, with arm glucose being about 5% lower than that of finger. At other times, average differences were less than this. At the greatest rate of glucose change (>2 mg/dL-min), mean percent bias was found to be about 6%. Despite these measurable differences, when arm results were plotted on the Clarke error grid against finger values, >97% of the data were within zone A (rest in zone B). Thus, physiological differences between arm and finger were clinically insignificant. Our studies with HemoCue confirmed the existence of measurable physiological glucose differences between arm and finger following a glucose challenge, but these differences were found to be clinically insignificant even in those subjects in whom they were measurable.

Stability of multifinger action in different state spaces.

PubMed

Reschechtko, Sasha; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M; Latash, Mark L

2014-12-15

We investigated stability of action by a multifinger system with three methods: analysis of intertrial variance, application of transient perturbations, and analysis of the system's motion in different state spaces. The "inverse piano" device was used to apply transient (lifting-and-lowering) perturbations to individual fingers during single- and two-finger accurate force production tasks. In each trial, the perturbation was applied either to a finger explicitly involved in the task or one that was not. We hypothesized that, in one-finger tasks, task-specific stability would be observed in the redundant space of finger forces but not in the nonredundant space of finger modes (commands to explicitly involved fingers). In two-finger tasks, we expected that perturbations applied to a nontask finger would not contribute to task-specific stability in mode space. In contrast to our expectations, analyses in both force and mode spaces showed lower stability in directions that did not change total force output compared with directions that did cause changes in total force. In addition, the transient perturbations led to a significant increase in the enslaving index. We consider these results within a theoretical scheme of control with referent body configurations organized hierarchically, using multiple few-to-many mappings organized in a synergic way. The observed volatility of enslaving, greater equifinality of total force compared with elemental variables, and large magnitude of motor equivalent motion in both force and mode spaces provide support for the concept of task-specific stability of performance and the existence of multiple neural loops, which ensure this stability. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Genome and Transcriptome sequence of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) provides insights into drought tolerance and nutraceutical properties.

PubMed

Hittalmani, Shailaja; Mahesh, H B; Shirke, Meghana Deepak; Biradar, Hanamareddy; Uday, Govindareddy; Aruna, Y R; Lohithaswa, H C; Mohanrao, A

2017-06-15

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) is an important staple food crop widely grown in Africa and South Asia. Among the millets, finger millet has high amount of calcium, methionine, tryptophan, fiber, and sulphur containing amino acids. In addition, it has C4 photosynthetic carbon assimilation mechanism, which helps to utilize water and nitrogen efficiently under hot and arid conditions without severely affecting yield. Therefore, development and utilization of genomic resources for genetic improvement of this crop is immensely useful. Experimental results from whole genome sequencing and assembling process of ML-365 finger millet cultivar yielded 1196 Mb covering approximately 82% of total estimated genome size. Genome analysis showed the presence of 85,243 genes and one half of the genome is repetitive in nature. The finger millet genome was found to have higher colinearity with foxtail millet and rice as compared to other Poaceae species. Mining of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) yielded abundance of SSRs within the finger millet genome. Functional annotation and mining of transcription factors revealed finger millet genome harbors large number of drought tolerance related genes. Transcriptome analysis of low moisture stress and non-stress samples revealed the identification of several drought-induced candidate genes, which could be used in drought tolerance breeding. This genome sequencing effort will strengthen plant breeders for allele discovery, genetic mapping, and identification of candidate genes for agronomically important traits. Availability of genomic resources of finger millet will enhance the novel breeding possibilities to address potential challenges of finger millet improvement.

Continuous detection and decoding of dexterous finger flexions with implantable myoelectric sensors.

PubMed

Baker, Justin J; Scheme, Erik; Englehart, Kevin; Hutchinson, Douglas T; Greger, Bradley

2010-08-01

A rhesus monkey was trained to perform individuated and combined finger flexions of the thumb, index, and middle finger. Nine implantable myoelectric sensors (IMES) were then surgically implanted into the finger muscles of the monkey's forearm, without any adverse effects over two years postimplantation. Using an inductive link, EMG was wirelessly recorded from the IMES as the monkey performed a finger flexion task. The EMG from the different IMES implants showed very little cross correlation. An offline parallel linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based algorithm was used to decode finger activity based on features extracted from continuously presented frames of recorded EMG. The offline parallel LDA was run on intraday sessions as well as on sessions where the algorithm was trained on one day and tested on following days. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated continuously by comparing classification output by the algorithm to the current state of the finger switches. The algorithm detected and classified seven different finger movements, including individual and combined finger flexions, and a no-movement state (chance performance = 12.5%) . When the algorithm was trained and tested on data collected the same day, the average performance was 43.8+/-3.6% n=10. When the training-testing separation period was five months, the average performance of the algorithm was 46.5+/-3.4% n=8. These results demonstrated that using EMG recorded and wirelessly transmitted by IMES offers a promising approach for providing intuitive, dexterous control of artificial limbs where human patients have sufficient, functional residual muscle following amputation.

Crossover from capillary fingering to viscous fingering in a rough fracture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, R.; Chen, Y.; Wu, D. S.

2017-12-01

Controlled by the competition between capillary and viscous forces, the displacement patterns of one fluid displacing another more viscous one exhibit capillary fingering, viscous fingering, and the crossover between the two. Although extensive studies have investigated viscous and capillary fingerings in porous and fractured media, a few studies focused on the crossover in rough fractures, and how viscous and capillary forces affect the crossover remains unclear. Using a transparent fracture visualization system, we studied how the competition impacts the crossover in a horizontal rough fracture. Drainage experiments of water displacing oil were conducted at seven flow rates (capillary number log10Ca ranging from -7.07 to -3.07) and four viscosity ratios (M = 1/1000, 1/500, 1/100 and 1/50). We consistently observed lower invading fluid saturations in the crossover zone. In addition, we proposed a phase diagram for the displacement patterns in a rough fracture that is consistent with similar studies in porous media. Based on real-time imaging and statistical analysis of the invasion morphology, we showed that the competition between the capillary and viscous forces is responsible for the saturation reduction in the crossover zone. In this zone, finger propagation toward the outlet (characteristic of viscous fingering) as well as void-filling in the transverse and backward directions (characteristic of capillary fingering), are both suppressed. Therefore, the invading fluid tends to occupy larger apertures with higher characteristic front velocity, promoting void-filling toward the outlet with thinner finger growth and resulting in a larger volume of defending fluid left behind.

The apparent mass and mechanical impedance of the hand and the transmission of vibration to the fingers, hand, and arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Concettoni, Enrico; Griffin, Michael

2009-08-01

Although hand-transmitted vibration causes injury and disease, most often evident in the fingers, the biodynamic responses of the fingers, hand, and arm are not yet well understood. A method of investigating the motion of the entire finger-hand-arm system, based on the simultaneous measurement of the biodynamic response at the driving point and the transmissibility to many points on the finger-hand-arm system, is illustrated. Fourteen male subjects participated in an experiment in which they pushed down on a vertically vibrating metal plate with their right forearm pronated and their elbow bent at 90°. The apparent mass and mechanical impedance of the finger-hand-arm system were measured for each of seven different contact conditions between the plate and the fingers and hand. Simultaneously, the vibration of the fingers, hand, and arm was measured at 41 locations using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. Transmissibilities showed how the vibration was transmitted along the arm and allowed the construction of spectral operating deflection shapes showing the vibration pattern of the fingers, hand, and arm for each of the seven contact conditions. The vibration patterns at critical frequencies for each contact condition have been used to explain features in the driving point biodynamic responses and the vibration behaviour of the hand-arm system. Spectral operating deflection shapes for the upper limb assist the interpretation of driving point biodynamic responses and help to advance understanding required to predict, explain, and control the various effects of hand-transmitted vibration.

The plant homeodomain fingers of fission yeast Msc1 exhibit E3 ubiquitin ligase activity.

PubMed

Dul, Barbara E; Walworth, Nancy C

2007-06-22

The DNA damage checkpoint pathway governs how cells regulate cell cycle progression in response to DNA damage. A screen for suppressors of a fission yeast chk1 mutant defective in the checkpoint pathway identified a novel Schizosaccharomyces pombe protein, Msc1. Msc1 contains 3 plant homeodomain (PHD) finger motifs, characteristically defined by a C4HC3 consensus similar to RING finger domains. PHD finger domains in viral proteins and in the cellular protein kinase MEKK1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 1) have been implicated as ubiquitin E3 protein ligases that affect protein stability. The close structural relationship of PHD fingers to RING fingers suggests that other PHD domain-containing proteins might share this activity. We show that each of the three PHD fingers of Msc1 can act as ubiquitin E3 ligases, reporting for the first time that PHD fingers from a nuclear protein exhibit E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. The function of the PHD fingers of Msc1 is needed to rescue the DNA damage sensitivity of a chk1Delta strain. Msc1 co-precipitates Rhp6, the S. pombe homologue of the human ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc2. Strikingly, deletion of msc1 confers complete suppression of the slow growth phenotype, UV and hydroxyurea sensitivities of an rhp6 deletion strain and restores deficient histone H3 methylation observed in the rhp6Delta mutant. We speculate that the target of the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of Msc1 is likely to be a chromatin-associated protein.

Species difference in ANP32A underlies influenza A virus polymerase host restriction

PubMed Central

Long, Jason S.; Giotis, Efstathios S.; Moncorgé, Olivier; Frise, Rebecca; Mistry, Bhakti; James, Joe; Morisson, Mireille; Iqbal, Munir; Vignal, Alain; Skinner, Michael A.; Barclay, Wendy S.

2015-01-01

Influenza pandemics occur unpredictably when zoonotic influenza viruses with novel antigenicity acquire the ability to transmit amongst humans 1. Incompatibilities between avian virus components and the human host limit host range breaches. Barriers include receptor preference, virion stability and poor activity of the avian virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in human cells 2. Mutants of the heterotrimeric viral polymerase components, particularly PB2 protein, are selected during mammalian adaptation, but their mode of action is unknown 3–6. We show that a species-specific difference in host protein ANP32A accounts for the suboptimal function of avian virus polymerase in mammalian cells. Avian ANP32A possesses an additional 33 amino acids between the LRR and LCAR domains. In mammalian cells, avian ANP32A rescued the suboptimal function of avian virus polymerase to levels similar to mammalian adapted polymerase. Deletion of the avian-specific sequence from chicken ANP32A abrogated this activity whereas its insertion into human ANP32A, or closely related ANP32B, supported avian virus polymerase function. Substitutions, such as PB2 E627K, rapidly selected upon infection of humans with avian H5N1 or H7N9 influenza viruses, adapt the viral polymerase for the shorter mammalian ANP32A. Thus ANP32A represents an essential host partner co-opted to support influenza virus replication and is a candidate host target for novel antivirals. PMID:26738596

Gate tunable parallel double quantum dots in InAs double-nanowire devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baba, S.; Matsuo, S.; Kamata, H.; Deacon, R. S.; Oiwa, A.; Li, K.; Jeppesen, S.; Samuelson, L.; Xu, H. Q.; Tarucha, S.

2017-12-01

We report fabrication and characterization of InAs nanowire devices with two closely placed parallel nanowires. The fabrication process we develop includes selective deposition of the nanowires with micron scale alignment onto predefined finger bottom gates using a polymer transfer technique. By tuning the double nanowire with the finger bottom gates, we observed the formation of parallel double quantum dots with one quantum dot in each nanowire bound by the normal metal contact edges. We report the gate tunability of the charge states in individual dots as well as the inter-dot electrostatic coupling. In addition, we fabricate a device with separate normal metal contacts and a common superconducting contact to the two parallel wires and confirm the dot formation in each wire from comparison of the transport properties and a superconducting proximity gap feature for the respective wires. With the fabrication techniques established in this study, devices can be realized for more advanced experiments on Cooper-pair splitting, generation of Parafermions, and so on.

Cardiovascular responses to noise: Effects of self-estimated sensitivity to noise, sex, and time of the day

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Nisi, J.; Muzet, A.; Weber, L. D.

1987-04-01

Eighty subjects of both sexes were selected according to their self-estimated high or low sensitivity to noise. Noise exposure took place during a mental task ("sound" condition) or during a video film illustrating the noises ("sound and video" condition). The experiments were conducted between 0900 and 1100 hours or between 1500 and 1700 hours. Heart rate response and finger pulse response amplitudes were averaged separately for "sound" and "sound and video" conditions. In the "sound" condition, the average amplitude of the heart rate response differed significantly between noise-sensitivity groups: the low sensitivity group showed a lower average amplitude of heart rate response than the high sensitivity group. A significant interaction between sex and time of the day (morning or afternoon) was observed in both "sound" and "sound and video" conditions. In the "sound" condition, the percentage of noises inducing a finger pulse response appeared higher in female than in male subjects.

Vibratory tactile display for textures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ikei, Yasushi; Ikeno, Akihisa; Fukuda, Shuichi

1994-01-01

We have developed a tactile display that produces vibratory stimulus to a fingertip in contact with a vibrating tactor matrix. The display depicts tactile surface textures while the user is exploring a virtual object surface. A piezoelectric actuator drives the individual tactor in accordance with both the finger movement and the surface texture being traced. Spatiotemporal display control schemes were examined for presenting the fundamental surface texture elements. The temporal duration of vibratory stimulus was experimentally optimized to simulate the adaptation process of cutaneous sensation. The selected duration time for presenting a single line edge agreed with the time threshold of tactile sensation. Then spatial stimulus disposition schemes were discussed for representation of other edge shapes. As an alternative means not relying on amplitude control, a method of augmented duration at the edge was investigated. Spatial resolution of the display was measured for the lines presented both in perpendicular and parallel to a finger axis. Discrimination of texture density was also measured on random dot textures.

Production of Mutated Porcine Embryos Using Zinc Finger Nucleases and a Reporter-based Cell Enrichment System.

PubMed

Koo, Ok Jae; Park, Sol Ji; Lee, Choongil; Kang, Jung Taek; Kim, Sujin; Moon, Joon Ho; Choi, Ji Yei; Kim, Hyojin; Jang, Goo; Kim, Jin-Soo; Kim, Seokjoong; Lee, Byeong-Chun

2014-03-01

To facilitate the construction of genetically-modified pigs, we produced cloned embryos derived from porcine fibroblasts transfected with a pair of engineered zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) plasmids to create targeted mutations and enriched using a reporter plasmid system. The reporter expresses RFP and eGFP simultaneously when ZFN-mediated site-specific mutations occur. Thus, double positive cells (RFP(+)/eGFP(+)) were selected and used for somatic cell nuclear transfer. Two types of reporter based enrichment systems were used in this study; the cloned embryos derived from cells enriched using a magnetic sorting-based system showed better developmental competence than did those derived from cells enriched by flow cytometry. Mutated sequences, such as insertions, deletions, or substitutions, together with the wild-type sequence, were found in the cloned porcine blastocysts. Therefore, genetic mutations can be achieved in cloned porcine embryos reconstructed with ZFN-treated cells that were enriched by a reporter-based system.

Forgetting motor programmes: retrieval dynamics in procedural memory.

PubMed

Tempel, Tobias; Frings, Christian

2014-01-01

When motor sequences are stored in memory in a categorised manner, selective retrieval of some sequences can induce forgetting of the non-retrieved sequences. We show that such retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) occurs not only in cued recall but also in a test assessing memory indirectly by providing novel test cues without involving recall of items. Participants learned several sequential finger movements (SFMs), each consisting of the movement of two fingers of either the left or the right hand. Subsequently, they performed retrieval practice on half of the sequences of one hand. A final task then required participants to enter letter dyads. A subset of these dyads corresponded to the previously learned sequences. RIF was present in the response times during the entering of the dyads. The finding of RIF in the slowed-down execution of motor programmes overlapping with initially trained motor sequences suggests that inhibition resolved interference between procedural representations of the acquired motor sequences of one hand during retrieval practice.

Numerical Simulations and an Experimental Investigation of a Finger Seal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braun, Minel; Pierson, Hazel; Li, H.; Dong, Dingeng

2006-01-01

Besides sealing, the other main goal of a successful finger seal design is to exhibit appropriate compliance to outside forces. The ability of the seal to ride or float along the rotor without rubbing or excessive heating is essential to the successful operation of the seal. The compliance of the finger must only occur in the radial plane; The seal needs to be as sturdy as possible in the axial direction. The compliant finger that moves radially outward with rotor growth and motion has to be able to ride the rotor back down as the rotor diameter recovers or the rotor moves "away". Thus there is an optimum stiffness for the finger.

Sensor mount assemblies and sensor assemblies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, David H

2012-04-10

Sensor mount assemblies and sensor assemblies are provided. In an embodiment, by way of example only, a sensor mount assembly includes a busbar, a main body, a backing surface, and a first finger. The busbar has a first end and a second end. The main body is overmolded onto the busbar. The backing surface extends radially outwardly relative to the main body. The first finger extends axially from the backing surface, and the first finger has a first end, a second end, and a tooth. The first end of the first finger is disposed on the backing surface, and themore » tooth is formed on the second end of the first finger.« less

Quantifying force application to a newborn manikin during simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

PubMed

Solevåg, Anne Lee; Cheung, Po-Yin; Li, Elliott; Aziz, Khalid; O'Reilly, Megan; Fu, Bo; Zheng, Bin; Schmölzer, Georg

2016-01-01

To assess utility of the FingerTPS™ system in measuring chest compression (CC) rate and force. Five minutes of CC was performed in a neonatal manikin without (n = 29) and with (n = 30) a metronome. The FingerTPS™ force (lbs.) was compared to pressure (mmHg) in a 50-mL normal-saline bag inside the manikin. FingerTPS™ CC rate and the time until a 20% decline from baseline force and pressure were calculated. The normal-saline pressure declined earlier than the FingerTPS™ force. Metronome use did not influence CC rate, force or pressure. The FingerTPS™ can be used to measure CC rate and force.

Parent driver characteristics associated with sub-optimal restraint of child passengers.

PubMed

Winston, Flaura K; Chen, Irene G; Smith, Rebecca; Elliott, Michael R

2006-12-01

To identify parent driver demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with the use of sub-optimal restraints for child passengers under nine years. Cross-sectional study using in-depth, validated telephone interviews with parent drivers in a probability sample of 3,818 vehicle crashes involving 5,146 children. Sub-optimal restraint was defined as use of forward-facing child safety seats for infants under one or weighing under 20 lbs, and any seat-belt use for children under 9. Sub-optimal restraint was more common among children under one and between four and eight years than among children aged one to three years (18%, 65%, and 5%, respectively). For children under nine, independent risk factors for sub-optimal restraint were: non-Hispanic black parent drivers (with non-Hispanic white parents as reference, adjusted relative risk, adjusted RR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.09-1.41); less educated parents (with college graduate or above as reference: high school, adjusted RR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.12-1.44; less than high school graduate, adjusted RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.13-1.63); and lower family income (with $50,000 or more as reference: <$20,000, adjusted RR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.07-1.40). Multivariate analysis revealed the following independent risk factors for sub-optimal restraint among four-to-eight-year-olds: older parent age, limited education, black race, and income below $20,000. Parents with low educational levels or of non-Hispanic black background may require additional anticipatory guidance regarding child passenger safety. The importance of poverty in predicting sub-optimal restraint underscores the importance of child restraint and booster seat disbursement and education programs, potentially through Medicaid.

Menstrual cycle phase and single tablet antiretroviral medication adherence in women with HIV.

PubMed

Hessol, Nancy A; Holman, Susan; Minkoff, Howard; Cohen, Mardge H; Golub, Elizabeth T; Kassaye, Seble; Karim, Roksana; Sosanya, Oluwakemi; Shaheen, Christopher; Merhi, Zaher

2016-01-01

Suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy among HIV-infected individuals is associated with increased risk of progression to AIDS and the development of HIV resistance to ARV medications. To examine whether the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle is independently associated with suboptimal adherence to single tablet regimen (STR) ARV medication, data were analyzed from a multicenter cohort study of HIV-infected women who reported regular menstrual cycles and were taking an STR. In a cross-sectional analysis, suboptimal adherence to an STR among women in their follicular phase was compared with suboptimal adherence among women in their luteal phase. In two-way crossover analyses, whereby the same woman was assessed for STR medication adherence in both her follicular and luteal phases, the estimated exact conditional odds of non-adherence to an STR was measured. In adjusted logistic regression analysis of the cross-sectional data (N=327), women with ≤12 years of education were more than three times more likely to have suboptimal adherence (OR=3.6, p=.04) compared to those with >12 years of education. Additionally, women with Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores ≥23 were 2.5-times more likely to have suboptimal adherence (OR=2.6, p=.02) compared to those with CES-D scores <23. In conditional logistic regression analyses of the crossover data (N=184), having childcare responsibilities was associated with greater odds of ≤95% adherence. Menstrual cycle phase was not associated with STR adherence in either the cross-sectional or crossover analyses. The lack of association between phase of the menstrual cycle and adherence to an STR in HIV-infected women means attention can be given to other more important risk factors for suboptimal adherence, such as depression, level of education, and childcare responsibilities.

High Prevalence of Suboptimal Vitamin D Status and Bone Loss in Adult Short Bowel Syndrome Even After Weaning Off Parenteral Nutrition.

PubMed

Fan, Shengxian; Ni, Xiaodong; Wang, Jian; Zhang, Yongliang; Tao, Shen; Kong, Wencheng; Li, Yousheng; Li, Jieshou

2017-04-01

Previous studies have noticed the high incidence of suboptimal vitamin D (VtD) status and bone loss in short bowel syndrome (SBS) with parenteral nutrition (PN) dependence. However, limited data have focused on adult SBS without PN dependence. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of suboptimal VtD status and bone loss in adult SBS even after weaning off PN. We performed a prospective study of 60 adult patients with SBS. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) was measured by radioimmunoassay. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Medical records and various laboratory parameters were collected in all participants. Suboptimal VtD status was identified in all individuals, including 3 (5.0%) with VtD insufficiency and 57 (95.0%) with VtD deficiency. Residual small bowel length (B, 0.072, P = .001) and duration of SBS (B, -0.066, P = .020) were both significantly correlated with suboptimal VtD levels. Overall, only 2 patients presented a normal BMD; osteopenia and osteoporosis were noted in 41 (68.3%) and 17 (28.3%) individuals, respectively. Low 25-OHD concentration was associated with a decreased BMD (B, 0.065, P = .029). There were no other demographic characteristics or clinical examinations associated with suboptimal VtD levels and bone loss. Suboptimal VtD status and bone loss were common in adult SBS even after weaning off PN. Despite routine oral VtD supplementation, most patients did not achieve satisfactory status. This emphasizes the critical importance of routine surveillance of 25-OHD and BMD, as well as consideration of alternative methods of supplementation after weaning off PN.

Fine finger motor skill training with exoskeleton robotic hand in chronic stroke: stroke rehabilitation.

PubMed

Ockenfeld, Corinna; Tong, Raymond K Y; Susanto, Evan A; Ho, Sze-Kit; Hu, Xiao-ling

2013-06-01

Background and Purpose. Stroke survivors often show a limited recovery in the hand function to perform delicate motions, such as full hand grasping, finger pinching and individual finger movement. The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of an exoskeleton robotic hand together with fine finger motor skill training on 2 chronic stroke patients. Case Descriptions. Two post-stroke patients participated in a 20-session training program by integrating 10 minutes physical therapy, 20 minutes robotic hand training and 15 minutes functional training tasks with delicate objects(card, pen and coin). These two patients (A and B) had cerebrovascular accident at 6 months and 11 months respectively when enrolled in this study. Outcomes. The results showed that both patients had improvements in Fugl-Meyer assessment (FM), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Patients had better isolation of the individual finger flexion and extension based on the reduced muscle co-contraction from the electromyographic(EMG) signals and finger extension force after 20 sessions of training. Discussion. This preliminary study showed that by focusing on the fine finger motor skills together with the exoskeleton robotic hand, it could improve the motor recovery of the upper extremity in the fingers and hand function, which were showed in the ARAT. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness.

Recruitment of mRNA-destabilizing protein TIS11 to stress granules is mediated by its zinc finger domain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murata, Tomiyasu; Morita, Noriyoshi; Hikita, Kiyomi

2005-02-15

TIS11, a member of the CCCH zinc finger protein family, was found to be distributed throughout cells with a preferential cytoplasmic localization when transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. Upon treatment with heat shock, TIS11 became localized in discrete particles in the cytoplasm of the transfectants. We showed the TIS11-positive particles to be stress granules (SGs), which are known to be formed in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells in response to environmental stresses. By deletion studies using the green fluorescent protein fusion system, we mapped a functional stress granule (SG) localization signal to a region containing two tandem repeats of themore » zinc finger motif of TIS11. Site-directed mutations of Tyr105/Tyr113, Gly109/Gly 114, and Phe119 in the first zinc finger motif diminished the ability of this TIS11 domain to direct SG localization. Importantly, when the zinc-chelating Cys residues in either the first or second zinc finger were mutated to Ala residues, the recruitment of the TIS11 zinc finger region to SG was significantly inhibited by the mutation and was completely abolished by the mutation in both zinc fingers. These results suggest that recruitment of TIS11 to heat shock-induced SG is governed by the tandem zinc finger domains of this protein.« less

Effects of electromyography-driven robot-aided hand training with neuromuscular electrical stimulation on hand control performance after chronic stroke.

PubMed

Rong, Wei; Tong, Kai Yu; Hu, Xiao Ling; Ho, Sze Kit

2015-03-01

An electromyography-driven robot system integrated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) was developed to investigate its effectiveness on post-stroke rehabilitation. The performance of this system in assisting finger flexion/extension with different assistance combinations was evaluated in five stroke subjects. Then, a pilot study with 20-sessions training was conducted to evaluate the training's effectiveness. The results showed that combined assistance from the NMES-robot could improve finger movement accuracy, encourage muscle activation of the finger muscles and suppress excessive muscular activities in the elbow joint. When assistances from both NMES and the robot were 50% of their maximum assistances, finger-tracking performance had the best results, with the lowest root mean square error, greater range of motion, higher voluntary muscle activations of the finger joints and lower muscle co-contraction in the finger and elbow joints. Upper limb function improved after the 20-session training, indicated by the increased clinical scores of Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Action Research Arm Test and Wolf Motor Function Test. Muscle co-contraction was reduced in the finger and elbow joints reflected by the Modified Ashworth Scale. The findings demonstrated that an electromyography-driven NMES-robot used for chronic stroke improved hand function and tracking performance. Further research is warranted to validate the method on a larger scale. Implications for Rehabilitation The hand robotics and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) techniques are still separate systems in current post-stroke hand rehabilitation. This is the first study to investigate the combined effects of the NMES and robot on hand rehabilitation. The finger tracking performance was improved with the combined assistance from the EMG-driven NMES-robot hand system. The assistance from the robot could improve the finger movement accuracy and the assistance from the NMES could reduce the muscle co-contraction on finger and elbow joints. The upper limb functions were improved on chronic stroke patients after the pilot study of 20-session hand training with the combined assistance from the EMG-driven NMES-robot. The muscle spasticity on finger and elbow joints was reduced after the training.

Dyscalculia: neuroscience and education

PubMed Central

Kaufmann, Liane

2010-01-01

Background Developmental dyscalculia is a heterogeneous disorder with largely dissociable performance profiles. Though our current understanding of the neurofunctional foundations of (adult) numerical cognition has increased considerably during the past two decades, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the developmental pathways of numerical cognition. Most studies on developmental dyscalculia are based upon adult calculation models which may not provide an adequate theoretical framework for understanding and investigating developing calculation systems. Furthermore, the applicability of neuroscience research to pedagogy has, so far, been limited. Purpose After providing an overview of current conceptualisations of numerical cognition and developmental dyscalculia, the present paper (1) reviews recent research findings that are suggestive of a neurofunctional link between fingers (finger gnosis, finger-based counting and calculation) and number processing, and (2) takes the latter findings as an example to discuss how neuroscience findings may impact on educational understanding and classroom interventions. Sources of evidence Finger-based number representations and finger-based calculation have deep roots in human ontology and phylogeny. Recently, accumulating empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis of a neurofunctional link between fingers and numbers has emerged from both behavioural and brain imaging studies. Main argument Preliminary but converging research supports the notion that finger gnosis and finger use seem to be related to calculation proficiency in elementary school children. Finger-based counting and calculation may facilitate the establishment of mental number representations (possibly by fostering the mapping from concrete non-symbolic to abstract symbolic number magnitudes), which in turn seem to be the foundations for successful arithmetic achievement. Conclusions Based on the findings illustrated here, it is plausible to assume that finger use might be an important and complementary aid (to more traditional pedagogical methods) to establish mental number representations and/or to facilitate learning to count and calculate. Clearly, future prospective studies are needed to investigate whether the explicit use of fingers in early mathematics teaching might prove to be beneficial for typically developing children and/or might support the mapping from concrete to abstract number representations in children with and without developmental dyscalculia. PMID:21258625

Dyscalculia: neuroscience and education.

PubMed

Kaufmann, Liane

2008-06-01

BACKGROUND: Developmental dyscalculia is a heterogeneous disorder with largely dissociable performance profiles. Though our current understanding of the neurofunctional foundations of (adult) numerical cognition has increased considerably during the past two decades, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the developmental pathways of numerical cognition. Most studies on developmental dyscalculia are based upon adult calculation models which may not provide an adequate theoretical framework for understanding and investigating developing calculation systems. Furthermore, the applicability of neuroscience research to pedagogy has, so far, been limited. PURPOSE: After providing an overview of current conceptualisations of numerical cognition and developmental dyscalculia, the present paper (1) reviews recent research findings that are suggestive of a neurofunctional link between fingers (finger gnosis, finger-based counting and calculation) and number processing, and (2) takes the latter findings as an example to discuss how neuroscience findings may impact on educational understanding and classroom interventions. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: Finger-based number representations and finger-based calculation have deep roots in human ontology and phylogeny. Recently, accumulating empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis of a neurofunctional link between fingers and numbers has emerged from both behavioural and brain imaging studies. MAIN ARGUMENT: Preliminary but converging research supports the notion that finger gnosis and finger use seem to be related to calculation proficiency in elementary school children. Finger-based counting and calculation may facilitate the establishment of mental number representations (possibly by fostering the mapping from concrete non-symbolic to abstract symbolic number magnitudes), which in turn seem to be the foundations for successful arithmetic achievement. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings illustrated here, it is plausible to assume that finger use might be an important and complementary aid (to more traditional pedagogical methods) to establish mental number representations and/or to facilitate learning to count and calculate. Clearly, future prospective studies are needed to investigate whether the explicit use of fingers in early mathematics teaching might prove to be beneficial for typically developing children and/or might support the mapping from concrete to abstract number representations in children with and without developmental dyscalculia.

Stabilization of posture by precision touch of the index finger with rigid and flexible filaments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lackner, J. R.; Rabin, E.; DiZio, P.

2001-01-01

Light touch of the index finger with a stationary surface at non-mechanically supportive force levels (<100 g) greatly attenuates the body sway of standing subjects. In three experiments, we evaluated the properties of finger contact and of the contacted object necessary to produce postural stabilization in subjects standing heel-to-toe with eyes closed, as well as how accurately hand position can be controlled. Experiment 1 involved finger contact with flexible filaments of different bending strengths, a flat surface, and an imagined spatial position. Contact with the flat surface was most effective in attenuating sway; the flexible filaments were much less effective but still significantly better than imagined contact. Experiment 2 compared the effectiveness of finger contact with a flexible filament, a rigid filament of the same diameter, a flat surface, and an imagined spatial position. The rigid filament and flat surface conditions were equally effective in attenuating body sway and were greatly superior to contact with the flexible filament, which was superior to imagined contact. Experiment 3 included five conditions: arms by sides; finger "contact" with an imagined spatial position; finger contact with a flat surface; finger contact with a flexible filament attempting to maintain it bent; and contact with the flexible filament attempting not to bend it. The arms by sides and finger "contact" with an imagined position conditions did not differ significantly; all three conditions involving actual finger contact showed significantly less center of pressure and hand sway, but contact with the flat surface was most effective in attenuating both postural and hand displacement. In all three experiments, the level of force applied in fingertip contact conditions was far below that necessary to provide mechanical stabilization. Our findings indicate that: (1) stimulation of a small number of receptors in the fingertip is adequate to allow stabilization of sway, (2) fingertip force levels as low as 5-10 g provide some stabilization, (3) contact with a stationary spatial referent is most effective, and (4) independent control of arm and torso occurs when finger contact is allowed.

The effect of nerve blockade on forearm and finger skin blood flow during body heating and cooling.

PubMed

Saumet, J L; Degoute, C S; Saumet, M; Abraham, P

1992-08-01

To determine the role of the active cutaneous vasodilatator response in forearm and finger skin, direct assessment of only skin blood flow was performed before and after musculocutaneous and median nerve blockade during whole body heating and cooling. Forearm laser Doppler flow (LDF forearm), forearm heat thermal clearance (HTC forearm), and finger laser Doppler flow (LDF finger) were monitored in the nerve blocked skin and contralateral untreated skin (control). In the pre-blockade period, no significant differences were found between experimental and control arm skin. After nerve block a significant increase occurred only in LDF finger, which rose from 4.3 +/- 0.6 to 6.0 +/- 0.5 volts (p less than 0.05). During whole body heating LDF forearm and HTC forearm increased significantly on both arms. The increase in LDF forearm was greater (p less than 0.05) in control (18.3 +/- 1.2 volts) than in nerve blocked skin (14.6 +/- 1.8 volts) and occurred earlier. The same tendency was observed in HTC forearm between nerve blocked skin (0.522 +/- 0.06 W.m-1.degrees C-1) and control 0.671 +/- 0.037 W.m-1.degrees C-1) (NS). LDF raise up to 6.6 +/- 0.5 and 6.8 +/- 0.5 volts in the blocked finger and in the control respectively. During cooling LDF finger in the control decreased to 1.3 +/- 0.1 volt and was significantly (p less than 0.05) lower than in the resting period, and lower than that in the nerve blocked finger (3.4 +/- 0.8 volts) (p less than 0.05). We conclude that the active vasodilatator system plays an important role as far as the timing and the amplitude of the cutaneous vasodilatator response to whole body heating in the forearm but not in the finger. At thermal neutrality, the vascular vasoconstrictor tone is high to the finger but not to the forearm. The vasoconstrictor response to cooling occurred only in the finger.

SUBOPT: A CAD program for suboptimal linear regulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleming, P. J.

1985-01-01

An interactive software package which provides design solutions for both standard linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and suboptimal linear regulator problems is described. Intended for time-invariant continuous systems, the package is easily modified to include sampled-data systems. LQR designs are obtained by established techniques while the large class of suboptimal problems containing controller and/or performance index options is solved using a robust gradient minimization technique. Numerical examples demonstrate features of the package and recent developments are described.

Evaluation of finger plate and flat plate connection design.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

This project investigates the cause(s) of premature deterioration of MoDOT finger plate and flat plate expansion devices : under high traffic volumes and then uses that information to design new Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) : finger plate...

Tool-specific performance of vibration-reducing gloves for attenuating fingers-transmitted vibration

PubMed Central

Welcome, Daniel E.; Dong, Ren G.; Xu, Xueyan S.; Warren, Christopher; McDowell, Thomas W.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND Fingers-transmitted vibration can cause vibration-induced white finger. The effectiveness of vibration-reducing (VR) gloves for reducing hand transmitted vibration to the fingers has not been sufficiently examined. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to examine tool-specific performance of VR gloves for reducing finger-transmitted vibrations in three orthogonal directions (3D) from powered hand tools. METHODS A transfer function method was used to estimate the tool-specific effectiveness of four typical VR gloves. The transfer functions of the VR glove fingers in three directions were either measured in this study or during a previous study using a 3D laser vibrometer. More than seventy vibration spectra of various tools or machines were used in the estimations. RESULTS When assessed based on frequency-weighted acceleration, the gloves provided little vibration reduction. In some cases, the gloves amplified the vibration by more than 10%, especially the neoprene glove. However, the neoprene glove did the best when the assessment was based on unweighted acceleration. The neoprene glove was able to reduce the vibration by 10% or more of the unweighted vibration for 27 out of the 79 tools. If the dominant vibration of a tool handle or workpiece was in the shear direction relative to the fingers, as observed in the operation of needle scalers, hammer chisels, and bucking bars, the gloves did not reduce the vibration but increased it. CONCLUSIONS This study confirmed that the effectiveness for reducing vibration varied with the gloves and the vibration reduction of each glove depended on tool, vibration direction to the fingers, and finger location. VR gloves, including certified anti-vibration gloves do not provide much vibration reduction when judged based on frequency-weighted acceleration. However, some of the VR gloves can provide more than 10% reduction of the unweighted vibration for some tools or workpieces. Tools and gloves can be matched for better effectiveness for protecting the fingers. PMID:27867313

Factors affecting healing and survival after finger amputations in patients with digital artery occlusive disease.

PubMed

Landry, Gregory J; McClary, Ashley; Liem, Timothy K; Mitchell, Erica L; Azarbal, Amir F; Moneta, Gregory L

2013-05-01

Finger amputations are typically performed as distal as possible to preserve maximum finger length. Failure of primary amputation leads to additional procedures, which could potentially be avoided if a more proximal amputation was initially performed. The effect of single versus multiple procedures on morbidity and mortality is not known. We evaluated factors that predicted primary healing and the effects of secondary procedures on survival. Patients undergoing finger amputations from 1995 to 2011 were evaluated for survival with uni- and multivariate analysis of demographic data and preoperative vascular laboratory studies to assess factors influencing primary healing. Seventy-six patients underwent 175 finger amputations (range 1 to 6 fingers per patient). Forty-one percent had diabetes, 33% had nonatherosclerotic digital artery disease, and 29% were on dialysis. Sex distribution was equal. Primary healing occurred in 78.9%, with the remainder requiring revisions. By logistic regression analysis, nonatherosclerotic digital artery disease was associated with failure of primary healing (odds ratio = 7.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 54; P = .047). Digital photoplethysmography did not predict primary healing. The overall healing of primary and secondary finger amputations was 96.0%. The mean survival after the initial finger amputation was 34.3 months and did not differ between patients undergoing single (35.6 months) versus multiple procedures (33.6 months). Dialysis dependence was associated with decreased survival (hazard ratio = 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.13 to 7.25; P = .026). Failure of primary healing is associated with the presence of nonatherosclerotic digital artery disease and is not predicted by digital photoplethysmographic studies. Dialysis dependence is associated with decreased survival in patients with finger amputations, but failure of primary healing does not adversely affect survival. A strategy of aggressive preservation of finger length is appropriate for most patients. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Control of an optimal finger exoskeleton based on continuous joint angle estimation from EMG signals.

PubMed

Ngeo, Jimson; Tamei, Tomoya; Shibata, Tomohiro; Orlando, M F Felix; Behera, Laxmidhar; Saxena, Anupam; Dutta, Ashish

2013-01-01

Patients suffering from loss of hand functions caused by stroke and other spinal cord injuries have driven a surge in the development of wearable assistive devices in recent years. In this paper, we present a system made up of a low-profile, optimally designed finger exoskeleton continuously controlled by a user's surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals. The mechanical design is based on an optimal four-bar linkage that can model the finger's irregular trajectory due to the finger's varying lengths and changing instantaneous center. The desired joint angle positions are given by the predictive output of an artificial neural network with an EMG-to-Muscle Activation model that parameterizes electromechanical delay (EMD). After confirming good prediction accuracy of multiple finger joint angles we evaluated an index finger exoskeleton by obtaining a subject's EMG signals from the left forearm and using the signal to actuate a finger on the right hand with the exoskeleton. Our results show that our sEMG-based control strategy worked well in controlling the exoskeleton, obtaining the intended positions of the device, and that the subject felt the appropriate motion support from the device.

You can count on the motor cortex: finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers.

PubMed

Tschentscher, Nadja; Hauk, Olaf; Fischer, Martin H; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

2012-02-15

The embodied cognition framework suggests that neural systems for perception and action are engaged during higher cognitive processes. In an event-related fMRI study, we tested this claim for the abstract domain of numerical symbol processing: is the human cortical motor system part of the representation of numbers, and is organization of numerical knowledge influenced by individual finger counting habits? Developmental studies suggest a link between numerals and finger counting habits due to the acquisition of numerical skills through finger counting in childhood. In the present study, digits 1 to 9 and the corresponding number words were presented visually to adults with different finger counting habits, i.e. left- and right-starters who reported that they usually start counting small numbers with their left and right hand, respectively. Despite the absence of overt hand movements, the hemisphere contralateral to the hand used for counting small numbers was activated when small numbers were presented. The correspondence between finger counting habits and hemispheric motor activation is consistent with an intrinsic functional link between finger counting and number processing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-contact finger vein acquisition system using NIR laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jiman; Kong, Hyoun-Joong; Park, Sangyun; Noh, SeungWoo; Lee, Seung-Rae; Kim, Taejeong; Kim, Hee Chan

2009-02-01

Authentication using finger vein pattern has substantial advantage than other biometrics. Because human vein patterns are hidden inside the skin and tissue, it is hard to forge vein structure. But conventional system using NIR LED array has two drawbacks. First, direct contact with LED array raise sanitary problem. Second, because of discreteness of LEDs, non-uniform illumination exists. We propose non-contact finger vein acquisition system using NIR laser and Laser line generator lens. Laser line generator lens makes evenly distributed line laser from focused laser light. Line laser is aimed on the finger longitudinally. NIR camera was used for image acquisition. 200 index finger vein images from 20 candidates are collected. Same finger vein pattern extraction algorithm was used to evaluate two sets of images. Acquired images from proposed non-contact system do not show any non-uniform illumination in contrary with conventional system. Also results of matching are comparable to conventional system. We developed Non-contact finger vein acquisition system. It can prevent potential cross contamination of skin diseases. Also the system can produce uniformly illuminated images unlike conventional system. With the benefit of non-contact, proposed system shows almost equivalent performance compared with conventional system.

Optoacoustic angiography of peripheral vasculature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermilov, Sergey; Su, Richard; Zamora, Mario; Hernandez, Travis; Nadvoretsky, Vyacheslav; Oraevsky, Alexander

2012-02-01

We developed a new optoacoustic microangiography system (OmAS) intended for in-vivo vascular imaging of a human finger. The system employs an arc-shaped acoustic array that is rotated 360 degrees around the finger providing optoacoustic data necessary for tomographic reconstruction of the three-dimensional images of a finger. A near-infrared Q-switched laser is used to generate optoacoustic signals with increased contrast of blood vessels. The laser is coupled through two randomized fiberoptic bundles oriented in orthogonal optoacoustic mode. To demonstrate OmAS capabilities, we present a time-series of optoacoustic images of a human finger taken after the hypothermia stress test. The images show a detailed vascular anatomy of a finger down to the capillary level. A series of quick 30s scans allowed us to visualize the thermoregulatory response within the studied finger as it was manifested via vasomotor activity during the hypothermia recovery. We propose that the developed system can be used for diagnostics of various medical conditions that are manifested in change of the peripheral (finger) blood flow. Examples of the medical conditions that could be diagnosed and staged using the OmAS include the peripheral arterial disease (PAD), thrombosis, frostbite, and traumas.

A transition in the viscous fingering instability in miscible fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Videbaek, Thomas; Nagel, Sidney R.

2017-11-01

The viscous fingering instability in a quasi-two dimensional Hele-Shaw cell is an example of complex structure formation from benign initial conditions. When the invading fluid has the lesser viscosity, the interface between the two fluids is unstable to finger formation. Here, we study the instability between pairs of miscible fluids in a circular cell with fluid injected at its center. As the injection rate is decreased, diffusion will smooth out the discontinuity in the gap-averaged viscosity at the interface between the fluids. At high injection rates (i.e., high Péclet number, Pe), fingering is associated with three-dimensional structure within the gap between the confining plates. On lowering Pe, we find a sharp transition in the finger morphology at a critical value, Pec (ηi /ηo) 1 / 2 , with ηi (ηo) being the viscosity of the inner (outer) fluid; at this point, the width of the fingers jumps, the length of the fingers shrinks towards zero and the three-dimensional structure goes from half filling to fully filling the gap. Thus, by controlling the viscosity contrast at the interface, one can alter and even completely suppress the instability.

Identification of Stimulated Sites Using Artificial Neural Networks Based on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-Elicited Motor Evoked Potentials and Finger Forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuda, Hiroshi; Odagaki, Masato; Hiwaki, Osamu

Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) vary in their amplitude from trial to trial. To investigate the functions of motor cortex by TMS, it is necessary to confirm the causal relationship between stimulated sites and variable MEPs. We created artificial neural networks to classify sets of variable MEP signals and finger forces into the corresponding stimulated sites. We conducted TMS at three different positions over M1 and measured MEPs of hand and forearm muscles and forces of the index finger in four subjects. We estimated the sites within motor cortex stimulated by TMS based on cortical columnar structure and nerve excitation properties. Finally, we tried to classify the various MEPs and finger forces into three groups using artificial neural networks. MEPs and finger forces varied from trial to trial, even if the stimulating coil was fixed on the subject's head. Our proposed neural network was able to identify the MEPs and finger forces with the corresponding stimulated sites in M1. We proposed the artificial neural networks to confirm the TMS-stimulated sites using various MEPs and evoked finger forces.

Multi-scale recordings for neuroprosthetic control of finger movements.

PubMed

Baker, Justin; Bishop, William; Kellis, Spencer; Levy, Todd; House, Paul; Greger, Bradley

2009-01-01

We trained a rhesus monkey to perform individuated and combined finger flexions and extensions of the thumb, index, and middle finger. A Utah Electrode Array (UEA) was implanted into the hand region of the motor cortex contralateral to the monkey's trained hand. We also implanted a microwire electrocorticography grid (microECoG) epidurally so that it covered the UEA. The microECoG grid spanned the arm and hand regions of both the primary motor and somatosensory cortices. Previously this monkey had Implantable MyoElectric Sensors (IMES) surgically implanted into the finger muscles of the monkey's forearm. Action potentials (APs), local field potentials (LFPs), and microECoG signals were recorded from wired head-stage connectors for the UEA and microECoG grids, while EMG was recorded wirelessly. The monkey performed a finger flexion/extension task while neural and EMG data were acquired. We wrote an algorithm that uses the spike data from the UEA to perform a real-time decode of the monkey's finger movements. Also, analyses of the LFP and microECoG data indicate that these data show trial-averaged differences between different finger movements, indicating the data are potentially decodeable.

Reductions in finger blood flow induced by 125-Hz vibration: effect of location of contact with vibration.

PubMed

Ye, Ying; Griffin, Michael J

2016-04-01

This study investigated whether the reductions in finger blood flow induced by 125-Hz vibration applied to different locations on the hand depend on thresholds for perceiving vibration at these locations. Subjects attended three sessions during which vibration was applied to the right index finger, the right thenar eminence, or the left thenar eminence. Absolute thresholds for perceiving vibration at these locations were determined. Finger blood flow in the middle finger of both hands was then measured at 30-s intervals during five successive 5-min periods: (i) pre-exposure, (ii) pre-exposure with 2-N force, (iii) 2-N force with vibration, (iv) post-exposure with 2-N force, (v) recovery. During period (iii), vibration was applied at 15 dB above the absolute threshold for perceiving vibration at the right thenar eminence. Vibration at all three locations reduced finger blood flow on the exposed and unexposed hand, with greater reductions when vibrating the finger. Vibration-induced vasoconstriction was greatest for individuals with low thresholds and locations of excitation with low thresholds. Differences in vasoconstriction between subjects and between locations are consistent with the Pacinian channel mediating both absolute thresholds and vibration-induced vasoconstriction.

Artificial dexterous hand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sukhan (Inventor)

1990-01-01

An artificial dexterous hand is provided for grasping and manipulating objects. The hand includes left and right thumbs that are operatively connected to an engagement assembly which causes movement of the left and right thumbs. The left thumb has a left thumb base and is movable about three separate first left thumb axes which run through the left thumb base. Correspondingly, the right thumb has a right thumb base and is movable about three separate first right thumb axes which run through the right thumb base. The engagement assembly has a gear assembly which is operatively connected to a motor assembly. Upon actuation by the motor assembly, the gear assembly causes movement of the left and right thumbs about the first left thumb axes and first right thumb axes respectively. The hand can also have a center finger which is operatively connected to the engagement assembly and which is interposed between the left and right thumbs. The finger has a finger base and is movable about two separate first finger axes running through the finger base. Therefore, upon actuation by the motor assembly, the gear assembly will also cause movement of the finger about the first finger axes.

Transcriptome Wide Identification and Validation of Calcium Sensor Gene Family in the Developing Spikes of Finger Millet Genotypes for Elucidating Its Role in Grain Calcium Accumulation

PubMed Central

Singh, Uma M.; Chandra, Muktesh; Shankhdhar, Shailesh C.; Kumar, Anil

2014-01-01

Background In finger millet, calcium is one of the important and abundant mineral elements. The molecular mechanisms involved in calcium accumulation in plants remains poorly understood. Transcriptome sequencing of genetically diverse genotypes of finger millet differing in grain calcium content will help in understanding the trait. Principal Finding In this study, the transcriptome sequencing of spike tissues of two genotypes of finger millet differing in their grain calcium content, were performed for the first time. Out of 109,218 contigs, 78 contigs in case of GP-1 (Low Ca genotype) and out of 120,130 contigs 76 contigs in case of GP-45 (High Ca genotype), were identified as calcium sensor genes. Through in silico analysis all 82 unique calcium sensor genes were classified into eight calcium sensor gene family viz., CaM & CaMLs, CBLs, CIPKs, CRKs, PEPRKs, CDPKs, CaMKs and CCaMK. Out of 82 genes, 12 were found diverse from the rice orthologs. The differential expression analysis on the basis of FPKM value resulted in 24 genes highly expressed in GP-45 and 11 genes highly expressed in GP-1. Ten of the 35 differentially expressed genes could be assigned to three documented pathways involved mainly in stress responses. Furthermore, validation of selected calcium sensor responder genes was also performed by qPCR, in developing spikes of both genotypes grown on different concentration of exogenous calcium. Conclusion Through de novo transcriptome data assembly and analysis, we reported the comprehensive identification and functional characterization of calcium sensor gene family. The calcium sensor gene family identified and characterized in this study will facilitate in understanding the molecular basis of calcium accumulation and development of calcium biofortified crops. Moreover, this study also supported that identification and characterization of gene family through Illumina paired-end sequencing is a potential tool for generating the genomic information of gene family in non-model species. PMID:25157851

Patients’ experiences of cold exposure during ambulance care

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Exposure to cold temperatures is often a neglected problem in prehospital care. Cold exposure increase thermal discomfort and, if untreated causes disturbances of vital body functions until ultimately reaching hypothermia. It may also impair cognitive function, increase pain and contribute to fear and an overall sense of dissatisfaction. The aim of this study was to investigate injured and ill patients’ experiences of cold exposure and to identify related factors. Method During January to March 2011, 62 consecutively selected patients were observed when they were cared for by ambulance nursing staff in prehospital care in the north of Sweden. The field study was based on observations, questions about thermal discomfort and temperature measurements (mattress air and patients’ finger temperature). Based on the observation protocol the participants were divided into two groups, one group that stated it was cold in the patient compartment in the ambulance and another group that did not. Continuous variables were analyzed with independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test and dichotomous variables with cross tabulation. Results In the ambulance 85% of the patients had a finger temperature below comfort zone and 44% experienced the ambient temperature in the patient compartment in the ambulance to be cold. There was a significant decrease in finger temperature from the first measurement indoor compared to measurement in the ambulance. The mattress temperature at the ambulance ranged from −22.3°C to 8.4°C. Conclusion Cold exposure in winter time is common in prehospital care. Sick and injured patients immediately react to cold exposure with decreasing finger temperature and experience of discomfort from cold. Keeping the patient in the comfort zone is of great importance. Further studies are needed to increase knowledge which can be a base for implications in prehospital care for patients who probably already suffer for other reasons. PMID:23742143

Transcriptome wide identification and validation of calcium sensor gene family in the developing spikes of finger millet genotypes for elucidating its role in grain calcium accumulation.

PubMed

Singh, Uma M; Chandra, Muktesh; Shankhdhar, Shailesh C; Kumar, Anil

2014-01-01

In finger millet, calcium is one of the important and abundant mineral elements. The molecular mechanisms involved in calcium accumulation in plants remains poorly understood. Transcriptome sequencing of genetically diverse genotypes of finger millet differing in grain calcium content will help in understanding the trait. In this study, the transcriptome sequencing of spike tissues of two genotypes of finger millet differing in their grain calcium content, were performed for the first time. Out of 109,218 contigs, 78 contigs in case of GP-1 (Low Ca genotype) and out of 120,130 contigs 76 contigs in case of GP-45 (High Ca genotype), were identified as calcium sensor genes. Through in silico analysis all 82 unique calcium sensor genes were classified into eight calcium sensor gene family viz., CaM & CaMLs, CBLs, CIPKs, CRKs, PEPRKs, CDPKs, CaMKs and CCaMK. Out of 82 genes, 12 were found diverse from the rice orthologs. The differential expression analysis on the basis of FPKM value resulted in 24 genes highly expressed in GP-45 and 11 genes highly expressed in GP-1. Ten of the 35 differentially expressed genes could be assigned to three documented pathways involved mainly in stress responses. Furthermore, validation of selected calcium sensor responder genes was also performed by qPCR, in developing spikes of both genotypes grown on different concentration of exogenous calcium. Through de novo transcriptome data assembly and analysis, we reported the comprehensive identification and functional characterization of calcium sensor gene family. The calcium sensor gene family identified and characterized in this study will facilitate in understanding the molecular basis of calcium accumulation and development of calcium biofortified crops. Moreover, this study also supported that identification and characterization of gene family through Illumina paired-end sequencing is a potential tool for generating the genomic information of gene family in non-model species.

Evaluation of arterial stiffness by finger-toe pulse wave velocity: optimization of signal processing and clinical validation.

PubMed

Obeid, Hasan; Khettab, Hakim; Marais, Louise; Hallab, Magid; Laurent, Stéphane; Boutouyrie, Pierre

2017-08-01

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) (cf-PWV) is the gold standard for measuring aortic stiffness. Finger-toe PWV (ft-PWV) is a simpler noninvasive method for measuring arterial stiffness. Although the validity of the method has been previously assessed, its accuracy can be improved. ft-PWV is determined on the basis of a patented height chart for the distance and the pulse transit time (PTT) between the finger and the toe pulpar arteries signals (ft-PTT). The objective of the first study, performed in 66 patients, was to compare different algorithms (intersecting tangents, maximum of the second derivative, 10% threshold and cross-correlation) for determining the foot of the arterial pulse wave, thus the ft-PTT. The objective of the second study, performed in 101 patients, was to investigate different signal processing chains to improve the concordance of ft-PWV with the gold-standard cf-PWV. Finger-toe PWV (ft-PWV) was calculated using the four algorithms. The best correlations relating ft-PWV and cf-PWV, and relating ft-PTT and carotid-femoral PTT were obtained with the maximum of the second derivative algorithm [PWV: r = 0.56, P < 0.0001, root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.9 m/s; PTT: r = 0.61, P < 0.001, RMSE = 12 ms]. The three other algorithms showed lower correlations. The correlation between ft-PTT and carotid-femoral PTT further improved (r = 0.81, P < 0.0001, RMSE = 5.4 ms) when the maximum of the second derivative algorithm was combined with an optimized signal processing chain. Selecting the maximum of the second derivative algorithm for detecting the foot of the pressure waveform, and combining it with an optimized signal processing chain, improved the accuracy of ft-PWV measurement in the current population sample. Thus, it makes ft-PWV very promising for the simple noninvasive determination of aortic stiffness in clinical practice.

Selective targeting of G-protein-coupled receptor subtypes with venom peptides.

PubMed

Näreoja, K; Näsman, J

2012-02-01

The G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family is one of the largest gene superfamilies with approx. 370 members responding to endogenous ligands in humans and a roughly equal amount of receptors sensitive to external stimuli from the surrounding. A number of receptors from this superfamily are well recognized targets for medical treatment of various disease conditions, whereas for many others the potential medical benefit of interference is still obscure. A general problem associated with GPCR research and therapeutics is the insufficient specificity of available ligands to differentiate between closely homologous receptor subtypes. In this context, venom peptides could make a significant contribution to the development of more specific drugs. Venoms from certain animals specialized in biochemical hunting contain a mixture of molecules that are directed towards a variety of membrane proteins. Peptide toxins isolated from these mixtures usually exhibit high specificity for their targets. Muscarinic toxins found from mamba snakes attracted much attention during the 1990s. These are 65-66 amino acid long peptides with a structural three-finger folding similar to the α-neurotoxins and they target the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in a subtype-selective manner. Recently, several members of the three-finger toxins from mamba snakes as well as conotoxins from marine cone snails have been shown to selectively interact with subtypes of adrenergic receptors. In this review, we will discuss the GPCR-directed peptide toxins found from different venoms and how some of these can be useful in exploring specific roles of receptor subtypes. © 2011 The Authors. Acta Physiologica © 2011 Scandinavian Physiological Society.

Three-Fingered RAVERs: Rapid Accumulation of Variations in Exposed Residues of Snake Venom Toxins

PubMed Central

Sunagar, Kartik; Jackson, Timothy N. W.; Undheim, Eivind A. B.; Ali, Syed. A.; Antunes, Agostinho; Fry, Bryan G.

2013-01-01

Three-finger toxins (3FTx) represent one of the most abundantly secreted and potently toxic components of colubrid (Colubridae), elapid (Elapidae) and psammophid (Psammophiinae subfamily of the Lamprophidae) snake venom arsenal. Despite their conserved structural similarity, they perform a diversity of biological functions. Although they are theorised to undergo adaptive evolution, the underlying diversification mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report the molecular evolution of different 3FTx functional forms and show that positively selected point mutations have driven the rapid evolution and diversification of 3FTx. These diversification events not only correlate with the evolution of advanced venom delivery systems (VDS) in Caenophidia, but in particular the explosive diversification of the clade subsequent to the evolution of a high pressure, hollow-fanged VDS in elapids, highlighting the significant role of these toxins in the evolution of advanced snakes. We show that Type I, II and III α-neurotoxins have evolved with extreme rapidity under the influence of positive selection. We also show that novel Oxyuranus/Pseudonaja Type II forms lacking the apotypic loop-2 stabilising cysteine doublet characteristic of Type II forms are not phylogenetically basal in relation to other Type IIs as previously thought, but are the result of secondary loss of these apotypic cysteines on at least three separate occasions. Not all 3FTxs have evolved rapidly: κ-neurotoxins, which form non-covalently associated heterodimers, have experienced a relatively weaker influence of diversifying selection; while cytotoxic 3FTx, with their functional sites, dispersed over 40% of the molecular surface, have been extremely constrained by negative selection. We show that the a previous theory of 3FTx molecular evolution (termed ASSET) is evolutionarily implausible and cannot account for the considerable variation observed in very short segments of 3FTx. Instead, we propose a theory of Rapid Accumulation of Variations in Exposed Residues (RAVER) to illustrate the significance of point mutations, guided by focal mutagenesis and positive selection in the evolution and diversification of 3FTx. PMID:24253238

A Comparison of Pulse-Oximetry, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), and Gas Sensors for In-Cockpit Hypoxia Detection

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-29

Pulse Oximetry: Arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) at the index finger on the left hand was measured with a finger oximeter (Model 3900 P, Datex...minutes or until their finger O2 saturation levels dropped below 50%. Oxygen saturation was measured via the left index finger with a pulse oximeter ... saturation . Pulse oximeters have two light emitting diodes, using red (600-750 nm) and near infrared (850-1000 nm) light that penetrates the skin

Molecular and functional characterization of two drought-induced zinc finger proteins, ZmZnF1 and ZmZnF2 from maize kernels

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We have isolated two cDNA clones encoding Zinc Finger proteins, designated as ZmZnF1 and ZmZnF2, from water-stressed maize kernels. Sequence analyses indicates that ZmZnF1 is homologous to the A20/AN1-type zinc finger protein and contains the zinc finger motif of Cx2–Cx10–CxCx4Cx2Hx5HxC. Whereas ZmZ...

Finger-Circumference-Measuring Device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Suy

1995-01-01

Easy-to-use device quickly measures circumference of finger (including thumb) on human hand. Includes polytetrafluoroethylene band 1/8 in. wide, bent into loop and attached to tab that slides on scale graduated in millimeters. Sliding tab preloaded with constant-force tension spring, which pulls tab toward closure of loop. Designed to facilitate measurements at various points along fingers to obtain data for studies of volumetric changes of fingers in microgravity. Also used in normal Earth gravity studies of growth and in assessment of diseases like arthritis.

Fingerprint Recognition with Identical Twin Fingerprints

PubMed Central

Yang, Xin; Tian, Jie

2012-01-01

Fingerprint recognition with identical twins is a challenging task due to the closest genetics-based relationship existing in the identical twins. Several pioneers have analyzed the similarity between twins' fingerprints. In this work we continue to investigate the topic of the similarity of identical twin fingerprints. Our study was tested based on a large identical twin fingerprint database that contains 83 twin pairs, 4 fingers per individual and six impressions per finger: 3984 (83*2*4*6) images. Compared to the previous work, our contributions are summarized as follows: (1) Two state-of-the-art fingerprint identification methods: P071 and VeriFinger 6.1 were used, rather than one fingerprint identification method in previous studies. (2) Six impressions per finger were captured, rather than just one impression, which makes the genuine distribution of matching scores more realistic. (3) A larger sample (83 pairs) was collected. (4) A novel statistical analysis, which aims at showing the probability distribution of the fingerprint types for the corresponding fingers of identical twins which have same fingerprint type, has been conducted. (5) A novel analysis, which aims at showing which finger from identical twins has higher probability of having same fingerprint type, has been conducted. Our results showed that: (a) A state-of-the-art automatic fingerprint verification system can distinguish identical twins without drastic degradation in performance. (b) The chance that the fingerprints have the same type from identical twins is 0.7440, comparing to 0.3215 from non-identical twins. (c) For the corresponding fingers of identical twins which have same fingerprint type, the probability distribution of five major fingerprint types is similar to the probability distribution for all the fingers' fingerprint type. (d) For each of four fingers of identical twins, the probability of having same fingerprint type is similar. PMID:22558204

Comparison of oxygen saturation values obtained from fingers on physically restrained or unrestrained sides of the body.

PubMed

Korhan, Esra Akin; Yönt, Gülendam Hakverdioğlu; Khorshid, Leyla

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare semiexperimentally the pulse oximetry values obtained from a finger on restrained or unrestrained sides of the body. The pulse oximeter provides a noninvasive measurement of the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood. One of the procedures most frequently applied to patients in intensive care units is the application of physical restraint. Circulation problems are the most important complication in patients who are physically restrained. Evaluation of oxygen saturation from body parts in which circulation is impeded or has deteriorated can cause false results. The research sample consisted of 30 hospitalized patients who participated in the study voluntarily and who were concordant with the inclusion criteria of the study. Patient information and patient follow-up forms were used for data collection. Pulse oximetry values were measured simultaneously using OxiMax Nellcor finger sensors from fingers on the restrained and unrestrained sides of the body. Numeric and percentile distributions were used in evaluating the sociodemographic properties of patients. A significant difference was found between the oxygen saturation values obtained from a finger of an arm that had been physically restrained and a finger of an arm that had not been physically restrained. The mean oxygen saturation value measured from a finger of an arm that had been physically restrained was found to be 93.40 (SD, 2.97), and the mean oxygen saturation value measured from a finger of an arm that had not been physically restrained was found to be 95.53 (SD, 2.38). The results of this study indicate that nurses should use a finger of an arm that is not physically restrained when evaluating oxygen saturation values to evaluate them correctly.

Models of brachial to finger pulse wave distortion and pressure decrement.

PubMed

Gizdulich, P; Prentza, A; Wesseling, K H

1997-03-01

To model the pulse wave distortion and pressure decrement occurring between brachial and finger arteries. Distortion reversion and decrement correction were also our aims. Brachial artery pressure was recorded intra-arterially and finger pressure was recorded non-invasively by the Finapres technique in 53 adult human subjects. Mean pressure was subtracted from each pressure waveform and Fourier analysis applied to the pulsations. A distortion model was estimated for each subject and averaged over the group. The average inverse model was applied to the full finger pressure waveform. The pressure decrement was modelled by multiple regression on finger systolic and diastolic levels. Waveform distortion could be described by a general, frequency dependent model having a resonance at 7.3 Hz. The general inverse model has an anti-resonance at this frequency. It converts finger to brachial pulsations thereby reducing average waveform distortion from 9.7 (s.d. 3.2) mmHg per sample for the finger pulse to 3.7 (1.7) mmHg for the converted pulse. Systolic and diastolic level differences between finger and brachial arterial pressures changed from -4 (15) and -8 (11) to +8 (14) and +8 (12) mmHg, respectively, after inverse modelling, with pulse pressures correct on average. The pressure decrement model reduced both the mean and the standard deviation of systolic and diastolic level differences to 0 (13) and 0 (8) mmHg. Diastolic differences were thus reduced most. Brachial to finger pulse wave distortion due to wave reflection in arteries is almost identical in all subjects and can be modelled by a single resonance. The pressure decrement due to flow in arteries is greatest for high pulse pressures superimposed on low means.

Multi-finger synergies and the muscular apparatus of the hand.

PubMed

Cuadra, Cristian; Bartsch, Angelo; Tiemann, Paula; Reschechtko, Sasha; Latash, Mark L

2018-05-01

We explored whether the synergic control of the hand during multi-finger force production tasks depends on the hand muscles involved. Healthy subjects performed accurate force production tasks and targeted force pulses while pressing against loops positioned at the level of fingertips, middle phalanges, and proximal phalanges. This varied the involvement of the extrinsic and intrinsic finger flexors. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold (UCM) hypothesis was used to analyze the structure of inter-trial variance, motor equivalence, and anticipatory synergy adjustments prior to the force pulse in the spaces of finger forces and finger modes (hypothetical finger-specific control signals). Subjects showed larger maximal force magnitudes at the proximal site of force production. There were synergies stabilizing total force during steady-state phases across all three sites of force production; no differences were seen across the sites in indices of structure of variance, motor equivalence, or anticipatory synergy adjustments. Indices of variance, which did not affect the task (within the UCM), correlated with motor equivalent motion between the steady states prior to and after the force pulse; in contrast, variance affecting task performance did not correlate with non-motor equivalent motion. The observations are discussed within the framework of hierarchical control with referent coordinates for salient effectors at each level. The findings suggest that multi-finger synergies are defined at the level of abundant transformation between the low-dimensional hand level and higher dimensional finger level while being relatively immune to transformations between the finger level and muscle level. The results also support the scheme of control with two classes of neural variables that define referent coordinates and gains in back-coupling loops between hierarchical control levels.