Systematic review of the application of virtual reality to improve balance,gait and motor function in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Background:Virtual reality (VR) is an advanced technique used in physical rehabilitation of neurological disorders, however the effects of VR on balance, gait, and motor function in people with Parkinson’s (PD) are still debated. Therefore, the systematic review aimed to determine the role of VR on motor function, balance and gait in PD patients.Methods:A comprehensive search to identify similar randomised controlled trials was conducted targeting 5 databases including Web of Science, PubMed, CINHAL, Cochrane Library, and Physiotherapy Evidence Database. A total of 25 studies were found eligible for this systematic review, and the methodological assessment of the quality rating of the studies was accomplished using the physiotherapy evidence database scale by 2 authors.Results:Out of the 25 included studies, 14 studies reported on balance as the primary outcome, 9 studies were conducted to assess motor function, and 12 assessed gait as the primary outcome. Most studies used the Unified Parkinson disease rating scale UPDRS (part-III) for evaluating motor function and the Berg Balance Scale as primary outcome measure for assessing balance. A total of 24 trials were conducted in clinical settings, and only 1 study was home-based VR trainings. Out of 9 studies on motor function, 6 reported equal improvement of motor function as compared to other groups. In addition, VR groups also revealed superior results in improving static balance among patient with PD.Conclusion:This systemic review found that the use of VR resulted in substantial improvements in balance, gait, and motor skills in patients with PD when compared to traditional physical therapy exercises or in combination with treatments other than physical therapy. Moreover, VR can be used as a supportive method for physical rehabilitation in patients of PD. However, the majority of published studies were of fair and good quality, suggesting a demand for high quality research in this area.     

EEG alpha and theta signatures of socially and non-socially cued working memory in virtual reality

In this preregistered study (https://osf.io/s4rm9) we investigated the behavioural and neurological [electroencephalography; alpha (attention) and theta (effort)] effects of dynamic non-predictive social and non-social cues on working memory. In a virtual environment realistic human-avatars dynamically looked to the left or right side of a table. A moving stick served as a non-social control cue. Kitchen items were presented in the valid cued or invalid un-cued location for encoding. Behavioural findings showed a similar influence of the cues on working memory performance. Alpha power changes were equivalent for the cues during cueing and encoding, reflecting similar attentional processing. However, theta power changes revealed different patterns for the cues. Theta power increased more strongly for the non-social cue compared to the social cue during initial cueing. Furthermore, while for the non-social cue there was a significantly larger increase in theta power for valid compared to invalid conditions during encoding, this was reversed for the social cue, with a significantly larger increase in theta power for the invalid compared to valid conditions, indicating differences in the cues’ effects on cognitive effort. Therefore, while social and non-social attention cues impact working memory performance in a similar fashion, the underlying neural mechanisms appear to differ.     

Dual leucine zipper kinase (MAP3K12) modulators: a patent review (2010–2015)

Introduction: The dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK, MAP3K12) is essential for neuronal development and has been shown to mediate axon regeneration. On the other hand, DLK is involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease and diabetes mellitus. Several patents have been published claiming to modulate or inhibit DLK by various approaches including ATP competitive inhibitors. In addition, two publications describe SAR of highly selective DLK inhibitors with efficacy in distinct mouse models of neurodegeneration.

Areas covered: This review summarized patents claiming to modulate DLK activity published between 2010 and 2015. Peer-reviewed publications related to the patents and additional peer-reviewed publications are included. This article describes 18 patents from three pharmaceutical companies and three academic research groups.

Expert opinion: Several methods are proposed to modulate DLK activity, some of them very experimental and not suitable for easy application in patients. ATP competitive kinase inhibitors exert high affinity, but for the majority, no information about their selectivity is available. To date, two inhibitors have been tested in mice. Given the controversial findings that DLK is required for neurodegeneration and for axon regeneration, more research is needed to further elucidate the regulation and the function of this kinase in diverse organs/tissues and under physiological and pathological conditions.     

dPQL: a lossless distributed algorithm for generalized linear mixed model with application to privacy-preserving hospital profiling

ObjectiveTo develop a lossless distributed algorithm for generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) with application to privacy-preserving hospital profiling.Materials and MethodsThe GLMM is often fitted to implement hospital profiling, using clinical or administrative claims data. Due to individual patient data (IPD) privacy regulations and the computational complexity of GLMM, a distributed algorithm for hospital profiling is needed. We develop a novel distributed penalized quasi-likelihood (dPQL) algorithm to fit GLMM when only aggregated data, rather than IPD, can be shared across hospitals. We also show that the standardized mortality rates, which are often reported as the results of hospital profiling, can also be calculated distributively without sharing IPD. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed dPQL algorithm by ranking 929 hospitals for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality or referral to hospice that have been previously studied.ResultsThe proposed dPQL algorithm is mathematically proven to be lossless, that is, it obtains identical results as if IPD were pooled from all hospitals. In the example of hospital profiling regarding COVID-19 mortality, the dPQL algorithm reached convergence with only 5 iterations, and the estimation of fixed effects, random effects, and mortality rates were identical to that of the PQL from pooled data.ConclusionThe dPQL algorithm is lossless, privacy-preserving and fast-converging for fitting GLMM. It provides an extremely suitable and convenient distributed approach for hospital profiling.     

基于虚拟切片的体视学模型仿真与分析

目的 建立虚拟组织切片的体视学模型,并以软件系统作为实现手段,模拟虚拟切片过程,为体视学的理论提供一个客观实证工具.方法 以数学手段描述组织切片可能出现的二维形态特征,模拟切片过程,将所得到的数据进行数值分析,与经验公式进行了拟合比较.结果 基于此算法可实现虚拟随机模拟切片,经拟合优度检验数据分布的均匀性检验通过率达94.5％以上.独立性检验通过率达92％以上.且均符合正态性要求.经线性和曲线拟合能够得到与经验公式相一致的体视学参数相关关系.结论 本文所述算法具有可行性,可以反映数值模拟结果的正确性.     

高效液相色谱法测定当归补血汤分煎液与合煎液中阿魏酸含量

目的；比较当归补血汤（当归，黄芪）分煎液与合煎液中阿魏酸含量。方法：采用HypersilC18，以甲醇-0.05%乙酸（45：55）为流动相，在324nm波长处测定。结果：分煎液阿魏液平均回收率为100.86%,RSD=2.33%。合煎液阿魏酸平均回收率为101.37%,RSD=1.52%。结论：合煎液中阿魏酸含量高于分煎液。     

Mixed epithelial and stromal tumor of the kidney in a puerperal woman

Puerperal pyrexia is still rampant, especially in third world countries, and is usually due to puerperal sepsis, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infection, and breast infection. Rarely, in third world countries like India, it may be due to tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid, and so on, which are also rampant in the general population. Mixed epithelial and stromal tumor of the kidney (MESTK) is a recently recognized subset of renal tumors composed mainly of smooth muscle cells in which epithelial structures are embedded. It usually occurs in middle aged and older women. In the present case report, a 36-year-old woman presented with puerperal pyrexia, possibly due to tuberculosis and with an incidental mixed epithelial and stromal tumor of the kidney causing complex ascitis and fever, which required nephrectomy that was followed by full recovery. This case report highlights the importance of keeping MESTK in mind even in younger women with asymptomatic renal mass. It also highlights the importance of keeping renal tumors in mind as a possibility and to perform proper investigations for adequate treatment and recovery.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study on the Interactions of Mixed Cationic/Anionic Collectors on Muscovite (001) Surface in Aqueous Solution

In this study, the adsorption mechanisms of dodecylamine hydrochloride(DDAHC), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SDBS), and their mixed anionic/cationic collectors at ten different molar ratios on a muscovite (Mcv) surface in neutral aqueous solution were assessed by molecular dynamics simulations (MDS). According to the snapshot, interaction energy, radial distribution function (RDF), and density profile between the Mcv surface and collector molecules, the individual DDAHC collector was an effective collector for the flotation of Mcv. The molar ratio of anionic/cationic collectors was determined to be an essential factor in the flotation recovery of Mcv. The DDAHC collector was involved in the adsorption of the mixed anionic/cationic collectors on the Mcv (001) surface, whereas SDS and SDBS collectors were co-adsorbed with DDAHC. The mixed cationic/anionic collector showed the best adsorption on the Mcv surface in a molar ratio of 2. Additionally, SDBS, which has one more benzene ring than SDS, was more likely to form spherical micelles with DDAHC, thus resulting in better adsorption on the Mcv surface. The results of micro-flotation experiments indicated that the DDAHC collector could improve the flotation recovery of Mcv in neutral aqueous solution, which was in agreement with MDS-derived findings. In conclusion, DDAHC alone is the optimum collector for Mcv flotation under the neutral aqueous conditions, while the mixture of DDAHC and SDBS collectors (molar ratio = 2:1) exhibits the similar flotation performance.