Acquiring visual information for locomotion by older adults: A systematic review

Developments in technology have facilitated quantitative examination of gaze behavior in relation to locomotion. The objective of this systematic review is to provide a critical evaluation of available evidence and to explore the role of gaze behavior among older adults during different forms of locomotion. Database searches were conducted to identify research papers that met the inclusion criteria of (1) study variables that included direct measurement of gaze and at least one form of locomotion, (2) participants who were older adults aged 60 years and above, and (3) reporting original research. Twenty-five papers related to walking on a straight path and turning (n = 4), stair navigation (n = 3), target negotiation and obstacle circumvention (n = 13) and perturbation-evoked sudden loss of balance (n = 5) were identified for the final quality assessment. The reviewed articles were found to have acceptable quality, with scores ranging from 47.06% to 94.12%. Overall, the current literature suggests that differences in gaze behavior during locomotion appear to change in late adulthood, especially with respect to transfer of gaze to and from a target, saccade-step latency, fixation durations on targets and viewing patterns. These changes appear to be particularly pronounced for older adults with high risk of falling and impaired executive functioning.     

A tissue stabilization device for MRI-guided breast biopsy

We present a breast tissue stabilization device that can be used in magnetic resonance imaging-guided biopsy. The device employs adjustable support plates with an optimized geometry to minimize the biopsy target displacement using smaller compression than the conventional parallel plates approach. It is expected that the reduced compression will cause less patient discomfort and improve image quality by enhancing the contrast intake. Precomputed optimal positions of the stabilization plates for a given biopsy target location are provided in a look-up table. The results of several experiments with a prototype of the device carried out on chicken breast tissue demonstrate the effectiveness of the new design when compared with conventional stabilization methods. The proposed stabilization mechanism provides excellent flexibility in selecting the needle insertion point and can be used in manual as well as robot-assisted biopsy procedures.     

情景演练式健康指导对提高乳腺癌术后患者功能锻炼依从性的作用

目的探讨指导乳腺癌术后患者功能锻炼的有效模式，提高患者对功能锻炼的依从性。方法选择乳腺癌根治术后患者180例，随机分为观察组和对照组。对照组80例给予常规护理及术后功能锻炼指导，观察组100例除实施以上措施外，护理人员采用情景表演方式对患者进行有效的功能锻炼指导与培训，对比观察两组患者对术后功能锻炼依从性的情况。结果对照组术后功能锻炼依从性为92．5％，观察组患者通过接受护理人员情境演练式功能锻炼指导及培训，术后功能锻炼依从性达99％，与对照组比较，差异有显著意义（P〈0.01）。结论情景演练式健康指导对提高乳腺癌术后患者功能锻炼依从性有较好的作用，可降低术后并发症发生，减轻患者痛苦，促进患者病情康复，值得在I临床推广。     

情景式引导联合针对性健康教育在永久性起搏器植入术后患者功能锻炼中的应用观察

目的:分析永久性起搏器植入手术患者采用情景式引导以及针对性健康教育对患者功能锻炼的影响。方法:选择在某院进行永久性起搏器植入手术治疗的74例患者为研究对象,其治疗时间均在2018年11月~2019年11月之间,采取随机数字排列表法将其分为常规组和实验组各37例。常规组患者实施基础健康教育指导,实验组患者实施情景式引导以及针对性健康教育,对比两组患者VAS疼痛评分、肢体功能障碍情况以及健康知识掌握情况。结果:实验组与常规组出院后1个月VAS疼痛评分分别是(2.65±0.87)分、(4.20±1.31)分(P<0.05);实验组与常规组出院后1个月肢体功能障碍率分别是2.70%、16.22%(P<0.05);实验组与常规组健康知识掌握率分别是97.30%、72.97%(P<0.05)。结论:永久性起搏器植入手术患者实施情景式引导以及针对性健康知识教育,可改善患者肢体疼痛情况,促进肢体功能恢复,提升患者对功能锻炼知识了解程度,具有一定的临床应用价值。     

Current treatment options for tendinopathy

Importance of the field: Tendon disorders are frequent and are responsible for much morbidity, both in sport and the workplace. Although several therapeutic options are routinely used, very few well-conducted randomised prospective, placebo, controlled trials have been performed to assist in choosing the best evidence-based management.

Areas covered in this review: We performed a comprehensive search of PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Embase databases over the years 1966 – 2010 to review the best evidence-based options for the management of patients with tendinopathy.

What the reader will gain: The reader will obtain information on the available medical and surgical therapies used to manage tendinopathy-related symptoms. The effectiveness of therapies, the length of management and the adverse effects are examined.

Take-home message: Management of tendinopathy is often anecdotic and lacking well-researched scientific evidence. Teaching patients to control the symptoms may be more beneficial than leading them to believe that tendinopathy is fully curable.     

Critical Looks: An Analysis of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

This paper sets out a framework for a comprehensive theory of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), based on interview data and theoretical reading. It combines psychoanalytic, cultural and political insights. It develops the author's earlier work on body hatred (Parker, 2003). The role of the other – actual, imagined or fantasized – is central, and ambivalence about the body, inflated by shame, is key to this dynamic. Any part of the body may be involved, and checking is compulsive, betraying an omnipotent struggle for acceptability and normality. The author suggests that BDD sufferers are especially sensitive to the power, pleasure and pain of looking and being looked at, with the objective sense of self dominating any subjective sense. Object relations provides explanations of individual differences in susceptibility to BDD, through failures of maternal mirroring. Lacan's theory of the mirror stage explains the origin of the ambivalent relation of the subject to his/her own image, rivalry with self and other, shame and desire, as well as the enduring power of cultural norms of appearance. Freud's ideas on taboo and ambivalence, and their dynamics in changing cultural forms, are illustrated and linked to Douglas's ideas of pollution and taboo.     

Is it possible to stabilize the trunk using rhythmic stabilization in the upper limb? A cross-sectional study of asymptomatic individuals

Objective: The study aim was to evaluate the immediate effect of rhythmic stabilization on local and distant muscles involved in a functional reach. Method: Prospective, observational cross-sectional study. Eight right-handed and non-impaired individuals (4 females and 4 males) aged 18–24 years (21.5 ± 1.58 years) were evaluated. Bilateral electromyographic recording of the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, multifidus lumbar, and rectus abdominis muscles was performed during three different tasks. Task 1 involved functional reach, while Task 2 involved rhythmic stabilization followed by a functional reach. Task 3 was similar to Task 2, but with 3 repetitions before a functional reach. Results: The results showed no difference between the tasks or sides. However, an interaction was observed between each side and muscles, with greater activation of the right multifidus lumbar muscle. Conclusion: Rhythmic stabilization during the task of reaching promotes an increase of multifidus activity ipsilateral to its application. Thus, this particular technique of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation can be useful for improving stability of the trunk and can be used in clinical practice for this purpose. Level of Evidence: 5.     

“The Gaze Heuristic:” Biography of an Adaptively Rational Decision Process

This article is a case study that describes the natural and human history of the gaze heuristic. The gaze heuristic is an interception heuristic that utilizes a single input (deviation from a constant angle of approach) repeatedly as a task is performed. Its architecture, advantages, and limitations are described in detail. A history of the gaze heuristic is then presented. In natural history, the gaze heuristic is the only known technique used by predators to intercept prey. In human history the gaze heuristic was discovered accidentally by Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter command just prior to World War II. As it was never discovered by the Luftwaffe, the technique conferred a decisive advantage upon the RAF throughout the war. After the end of the war in America, German technology was combined with the British heuristic to create the Sidewinder AIM9 missile, the most successful autonomous weapon ever built. There are no plans to withdraw it or replace its guiding gaze heuristic. The case study demonstrates that the gaze heuristic is a specific heuristic type that takes a single best input at the best time (take the best²). Its use is an adaptively rational response to specific, rapidly evolving decision environments that has allowed those animals/humans/machines who use it to survive, prosper, and multiply relative to those who do not.