The segway personal transporter as an alternative mobility device for people with disabilities: a pilot study

Sawatzky B, Denison I, Langrish S, Richardson S, Hiller K, Slobogean B. The Segway Personal Transporter as an alternative mobility device for people with disabilities: a pilot study.

Objectives

To determine the functional measures that best correlate with the skill levels of people with disabilities who operate a Segway Personal Transporter, and—using a qualitative analysis—to explore subjects’ experience with the Segway.

Design

A prospective study encompassing 3 training sessions with the Segway to correlate subjects’ functional ability (eg, cognition, balance, mobility, muscle strength) with their skill level on the device.

Setting

A provincial adult rehabilitation center.

Participants

Twenty-three subjects (age range, 19−65y) with a wide range of disabilities (eg, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, amputation) who could walk at least 6m with or without assistance.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Segway Task Assessment, Berg Balance Scale, and Timed Up & Go test.

Results

No correlation was found because all participants successfully completed the final Segway Task Assessment, regardless of scores on functional assessments.

Conclusions

The Segway is a useful device for a broad range of populations with functional disabilities. Subjects found the Segway easy to use and were excited about its potential as an assistive device for use in their communities.     

Postlactational involution biomarkers plasminogen and phospho-STAT3 are linked with active age-related lobular involution

Background

Differences in estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) expression between invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) could be an underlying reason for the difference in chemo-sensitivity and response to hormonal therapy between ILC and IDC. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in ER and PR expression levels between postmenopausal patients with hormonal receptor-positive ILC and IDC.

Methods

We included all ER and/or PR receptor-positive ILC and IDC, diagnosed between January 2011 and December 2013 from the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry. A semi-quantitative classification was used to analyze differences in ER/PR expression, which consisted of three ER expression classes: 10–69, 70–89, and ≥90%. Differences in ER and PR expression levels between IDC and ILC were analyzed according to age group, tumor size, axillary nodal status, grade, and HER2 status.

Results

In total, 26,339 ER and/or PR-positive breast cancers were included in the study, of which 17% were ILC and 83% IDC. In patients with IDC, 86% of the tumors showed an ER expression level of 90% or more, compared to 84% in those with ILC. In both IDC and ILC a PR expression level of 90% or more was observed in 54% of the tumors. In postmenopausal patients aged 50–69 years no significant differences could be observed in ER and PR expression levels between ILC and IDC.

Conclusion

Patients with ER and PR-positive ILC and IDC have similar quantitative ER and PR expression profiles, implicating that ER/PR expression is unlikely to be a confounding factor in studies concerning chemo-sensitivity of ILC and IDC.

     

Peer Reviewed: Smoking Status as a Predictor of Hip Fracture Risk in Postmenopausal Women of Northwest Texas

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cigarette smoking on the risk of hip fracture for postmenopausal women living in rural and urban areas of Northwest Texas.

Methods

Using an unmatched case-control design, we compared postmenopausal women who had recently experienced osteoporotic hip fracture with women who had not. Both study groups completed a questionnaire on demographic, clinical, and behavioral risk factors for osteoporotic hip fracture. We categorized smoking status as never smoked, former smoker, and current smoker. Covariates included age, weight, age at menopause, physical activity, estrogen replacement, calcium supplementation, and rurality. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regressions to test the associations between hip fracture and the independent variables of interest.

Results

We found an increased risk of hip fracture for former smokers (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22–4.21) and current smokers (adjusted OR, 3.72; 95% CI, 1.59–8.70). Residence in a rural county (population <100,000) also was associated with increased risk (adjusted OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.48–4.95).

Conclusion

Former and current smoking increased the risk of hip fracture in this population of postmenopausal women.     

Gas-phase ambient air contaminants exhibit significant dioxin-like and estrogen-like activity in vitro

Several adverse health effects, such as respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity, have been linked to exposure to particulate matter in ambient air; however, the biologic activity of gas-phase ambient organic air contaminants has not been examined as thoroughly. Using aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-based and estrogen receptor (ER)-based cell bioassay systems, we assessed the dioxin-like and estrogenic activities of gas-phase organic ambient air contaminants compared with those of particulate-phase contaminants using samples collected between seasons over 2 years from an urban and a rural location in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. The concentration of the sum (Sigma) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which was highest in the gas phase, was 10-100 times more abundant than that of Sigmapolychlorinated biphenyls, Sigmanitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and Sigmaorganochlorine pesticides, and 10(3) to 10(4) times more abundant than Sigmapolychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans. Gas-phase samples induced significant AHR- and ER-dependent gene expression. The activity of the gas-phase samples was greater than that of the particulate-phase samples in the estrogen assay and, in one case, in the AHR assay. We found no strong associations between either summer or winter seasons or urban or rural locations in the relative efficacy of the extracts in either the ER or AHR assay despite differences in chemical composition, concentrations, and abundance. Our results suggest that mechanistic studies of the health effects of ambient air must consider gas and particulate phases because chemicals present in both phases can affect AHR and ER signaling pathways.     

Biopsychosocial Predictors of Pain,Disability, Health Care Consumption,and Sick Leave in First-Episode and Long-Term Back Pain: A Longitudinal Study in the General Population

Background  

Long-term outcome in back pain is related mainly to cognitive factors such as pain-related beliefs and expectations. Most research has been performed on patient samples.     

Wheeling efficiency: the effects of varying tyre pressure with children and adolescents

PURPOSE: Clinicians often observe child wheelchair users wheeling on tyres that are not inflated to manufacturer's recommendations. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in energy expenditure that are related to decreased tyre pressure. METHODS: A within subject repeated measures design was used to assess the energy requirements of wheeling with four randomized tire inflation levels (25, 50, 75 and 100% of recommended tire pressure, 100 psi). All 10 subjects (mean age 14.2 +/- 2.3 years completed four 5-minute trials (one for each tyre pressure), while wheeling at a constant, self-selected velocity. Heart rate and wheeling velocity were measured. RESULTS: There was no change in wheeling velocity with changes in tyre pressure; however, energy expenditure was found to increase by over 15% with decreasing tyre pressure (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In order for children to minimize their energy expenditure and, thus, improve their independence, clinicians and parents must be educated as to the importance of regular wheelchair tyre inflation regimes.