Development of an exercise machine for the elderly

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this project was to develop an idea for a product that would help the elderly in their daily lives. The specific people that the product would target were those senior citizens who are still self-sufficient but are feeling the early stages of old age. This was an important project because such a product would have the potential to be beneficial for the elderly as well as marketable and profitable. There were many stages involved in coming up with an idea for a product. First, market research needed to be conducted in order to determine information about the target group. The research helped determine the size of the target group along with their lifestyles and opinions. Research was also done to analyze products that are currently on the market. After analysis of all the information, an exercise machine for the elderly was developed as an idea for the product. This exercise machine would be one that allowed the users to do moves similar to Tai Chi exercises. This would help the elderly with their range of motion, flexibility, and lower body strength. The product developed has a lot of potential for further research and progress.by Marcus R. Carson.S.B

Developmental changes in upper airway dynamics

Normal children have a less collapsible upper airway in response to subatmospheric pressure administration (P-NEG) during steep than normal adults do, and this upper airway response appears to be modulated by the central ventilatory drive. Children have a greater ventilatory drive than adults. We, therefore, hypothesized that children have increased neuromotor activation of their pharyngeal airway during sleep compared with adults. As infants have few obstructive apneas during steep, we hypothesized that infants would have an upper airway that was resistant to collapse. We, therefore, compared the upper airway pressure-flow (V) relationship during sleep between normal infants, prepubertal children, and adults. We evaluated the upper airway response to 1) intermittent, acute P-NEG (infants, children, and adults), and 2) hypercapnia (children and adults). We found that adults had a more collapsible upper airway during sleep than either infants or children. the children exhibited a vigorous response to both P-NEG and hypercapnia during sleep (P < 0.01), whereas adults had no significant change. Infants had an airway that was resistant to collapse and showed a very rapid response to P-NEG. We conclude that the upper airway is resistant to collapse during sleep in infants and children. Normal children have preservation of upper airway responses to P-NEG and hypercapnia during sleep, whereas responses are diminished in adults. Infants appear to have a different pattern of upper airway activation than older children. We speculate that the pharyngeal airway responses present in normal children are a compensatory response for a relatively narrow upper airway.Johns Hopkins Univ, Eudowood Div Pediat Resp Sci, Baltimore, MD 21287 USAJohns Hopkins Univ, Div Oncol Biostat, Baltimore, MD 21287 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Neurol & Internal Med, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Neurol & Internal Med, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Configurações de governança pluralistas, neocorporativas e da União Europeia: padrões de elaboração de políticas e de acção dos lóbis numa perspectiva comparada

Este artigo aplica o novo institucionalismo à análise comparativa da governança e da elaboração de políticas em diferentes sistemas políticos. São aqui identificadas e contrastadas as articulações de interesses e as configurações da decisão política pluralistas, neocorporativas e da União Europeia. O texto considera o grau de abertura, flexibilidade e previsibilidade, bem como os padrões de produção e desenvolvimento de políticas nos diferentes sistemas. Conclui-se que muitas das vantagens do sistema da UE, com a sua flexibilidade e adaptabilidade às questões e condições sectoriais específicas, são também fonte dos seus problemas de não transparência e de défice democrático.This paper applies the new institutionalism to the comparative analysis of governance and policy-making in different political systems. Pluralist, neo-corporatist and European Union interest articulation and policymaking arrangements are distinguished and contrasted. The article considers the degree of openness, flexibility, extent of predictability, and patterns of policy production and development in the different systems. It concludes that many of the advantages of the EU system with its flexibility and adaptability to sectoral specific issues and conditions are also a source of its problems of non-transparency and democratic deficit.Cet article applique le nouvel institutionnalisme à l’analyse comparative de la gouvernance et de l’élaboration de politiques dans différents systèmes politiques. Il identifie et compare les articulations d’intérêts et les configurations de la décision politique pluralistes, néo-corporatives et de l’Union européenne. Le texte analyse le degré d’ouverture, de flexibilité et de prévisibilité, ainsi que les modèles de production et de développement de politiques dans les différents systèmes. Les auteurs concluent que nombre des avantages du système de l’UE, avec sa flexibilité et son adaptabilité aux questions et aux conditions sectorielles spécifiques, sont également la source de ses problèmes de non-transparence et de déficit démocratique.Este artículo aplica el nuevo institucionalismo al análisis comparativo de la governança y de la elaboración de políticas en diferentes sistemas políticos. Se identifican y contrastan las articulaciones de intereses y las configuraciones de la decisión política pluralista, neo-corporativas y de la Unión Europea. El texto considera el grado de apertura, flexibilidad y previsibilidad, así como los patrones de producción y desarrollo de políticas en los diferentes sistemas. Se concluye que muchas de las ventajas del sistema de la UE, con su flexibilidad y adaptabilidad a las cuestiones y condiciones sectoriales específicas, también son fuentes de sus problemas de poca transparencia y de déficit democrático

Analysis of reach-scale elevation distribution in braided rivers: Definition of a new morphologic indicator and estimation of mean quantities

This work has been carried out within the SMART Joint Doctorate (Science forthe MAnagement of Rivers and theirTidal systems) funded with the support of the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union. Data of the Rees River were derived as part of UKNatural Environment Research Council grant (NE/G005427/1) awarded to PI Brasington, along with further support from the NERC Geophysical Equipmen tFacility (Loan 892) and Leverhulme Trust IAF2014-03

Calcium stone lithoptysis in primary ciliary dyskinesia

An association between lithoptysis and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) has not been previously reported. However, reports of lithoptysis from 2 older patients (>60 yr) prompted a study of this association. We performed a prospective study of all PCD patients presenting to our institution between August 2003 and March 2006, seeking the symptom of lithoptysis or calcium deposition on radiology. A retrospective analysis of all PCD patients presenting prior to August 2003 was also performed. Patients age > or = 40 previously reviewed were recontacted. If a history of lithoptysis or calcium deposition was present, we further reviewed radiographic, microbiologic, and biochemical data, including serum calcium and phosphate. Broncholiths were analyzed by light and electron microscopy- and electron-dispersive X-ray analysis. In total, 142 patients (n=28 age > or = 40) were included, 41 in the prospective and 91 in the retrospective study. Lithoptysis was reported in 5 patients (all age > or = 40). Chest CT scans identified calcification (4/5), involving bronchiectatic airways in 3 patients and focal nodular calcification in 1 patient. Two other patients (age 46, 59) were identified with airway calcification without lithoptysis. Available broncholiths from 2 of these patients were composed of calcite, whereas a broncholith from 1 patient with focal nodular calcification contained calcium phosphate. Sputum was positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in all 7 patients, but negative for mycobacterial and fungal cultures. There is an association between lithoptysis and PCD in patients age > or = 40. We hypothesize that calcite stone formation is a biomineralization response to chronic airway inflammation and retention of infected airway secretions in PCD in a subset of PCD patients

Facilitators and barriers of alcohol goals for Latinx men hospitalized with alcohol use disorder seen by an Addiction Consult Team.

INTRODUCTION: Latinx individuals are disproportionately affected by alcohol use disorder (AUD). Understanding Latinx individuals barriers and facilitators to reach AUD-related goals can help implement culturally and linguistically concordant interventions to improve alcohol-related outcomes. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with Latinx, Spanish-speaking men with AUD within 20 weeks of hospital discharge who were seen by an addiction consult team during hospitalization in an urban, safety-net hospital in San Francisco. Interviews focused on the facilitators and barriers to participants AUD-related goals pre-, during, and post-hospitalization. We recorded and transcribed interviews and used a mixed deductive and inductive analytic approach until we reached thematic saturation (n = 10). RESULTS: We identified three major themes: 1. Hospitalization was an actionable moment for change; 2. Social factors were closely intertwined with AUD goals; and 3. Accessible addiction, physical health, and mental health services can help achieve AUD goals. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization may serve as a facilitator for Latinx individuals with AUD to achieve AUD goals. Addressing social determinants of health including housing, immigration status, and social support networks before, during, and after hospitalization, may help facilitate AUD goals. Providing language-concordant and accessible services may decrease barriers to achieving AUD goals

Temperature-dependent conformations of exciton-coupled Cy3 dimers in double-stranded DNA

Understanding the properties of electronically interacting molecular chromophores, which involve internally coupled electronic-vibrational motions, is important to the spectroscopy of many biologically relevant systems. Here we apply linear absorption, circular dichroism (CD), and two-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy (2DFS) to study the polarized collective excitations of excitonically coupled cyanine dimers (Cy3)2 that are rigidly positioned within the opposing sugar-phosphate backbones of the double-stranded region of a double-stranded (ss) - single-stranded (ss) DNA fork construct. We show that the exciton-coupling strength of the (Cy3)2-DNA construct can be systematically varied with temperature below the ds - ss DNA denaturation transition. We interpret spectroscopic measurements in terms of the Holstein vibronic dimer model, from which we obtain information about the local conformation of the (Cy3)2 dimer, as well as the degree of static disorder experienced by the Cy3 monomer and the (Cy3)2 dimer probe locally within their respective DNA duplex environments. The properties of the (Cy3)2-DNA construct we determine suggest that it may be employed as a useful model system to test fundamental concepts of protein-DNA interactions, and the role of electronic-vibrational coherence in electronic energy migration within exciton-coupled bio-molecular arrays