Otto Bock powered wrist rotator incorporated with the Systemteknik child size electric hand

This report deals with the incorporation of the Otto Bock powered wrist rotator with the Systemteknik child's size electric hand to gain an additional degree of freedom. Technical details are provided and a case study involving a 5-year old girl with bilateral shoulder disarticulation is presented.     

Nutritional and health status of Tibetan children living at high altitudes

BACKGROUND: Children living at high altitudes often have delayed growth, but whether growth retardation is related to altitude or to other factors is not known. METHODS: A multicultural health care team assessed 2078 Tibetan children 0 to 84 months of age for anthropometric and clinical signs of malnutrition. The children lived in 11 counties, which contained more than 50 diverse urban and nonurban (nomadic, agricultural, or periurban) communities in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The height and weight of the children were compared with those of U.S. children. Height and weight were expressed as z scores (the number of standard deviations from the median of the age- and sex-specific reference group). RESULTS: The mean z score for height fell from -0.5 to -1.6 in the first 12 months of life and generally ranged from -2.0 to -2.4 in older children. Overall, of 2078 children, 1067 (51 percent) had moderately or severely stunted growth, as defined by a z score of -2.0 or lower. Of the 1556 children 24 months of age or older, 871 (56 percent) had stunted growth, which was severe (z score, -3.0 or lower) in 380 (24 percent). Among the children in this age group, 787 of the 1313 nonurban children (60 percent) had stunting, as compared with 84 of the 243 urban children (35 percent). Stunting was associated with clinical conditions such as rickets, abdominal distention, hair depigmentation, and skin lesions and with a maternal history of hepatitis or goiter. Stunting was not associated with altitude, after adjustment for the type of community. CONCLUSIONS: In Tibetan children, severe stunting due to malnutrition occurs early in life, and morbidity is high.     

Prosthesis with electric elbow and hand for a three-year-old multiply handicapped child

The usefulness of wisely prescribed powered components in the rehabilitation of upper extremity amputees has long been recognized (Schmidl, 1973). Their value is especially evident in the prosthetic rehabilitation of high level adult and child amputees (Heger et al, 1985). In recent years, manufacturers of prosthetic hardware have provided practitioners with a wide selection of either myo-electrically or switch controlled electromechanical components and systems. As a rule, however, most commercially available components are designed to serve the adult amputee and do not lend themselves for use in the prosthetic rehabilitation of children. One current exception is the availability of child-size electric hands. The availability of the world's first child-size electric hand in 1970 at the Ontario Crippled Children's Centre later known as the Variety Village 105 hand, gave tremendous impetus to the fitting of younger children with externally powered components and myoelectric control systems. However, this trend served to benefit the young below-elbow patient only (Sorbye et al, 1972). The successful fitting of higher amputation levels in this age group stopped at the elbow level. Existing artificial elbows such as the Variety Village and Hosmer elbow with their necessary powerpacks are simply too bulky and too heavy for pre-school age children. The need for a lightweight compact electric elbow, suitable for 3-8 year old children, still has not been addressed. This single case report illustrates an innovative and successful conversion of a 6-3/4 Otto Bock hand into a small electric elbow. The idea was first proposed by Schmidl (1973).     

Antcin A,a phytosterol regulates SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated metabolic alteration in THP-1 cells explored by the 1H-NMR-based metabolomics approach

The mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated perturbations of metabolic pathways and modulation of antcin A, a steroid-like compound isolated from Taiwanofungus camphoratus, are not studied. Here, we investigated the metabolic alteration by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the regulatory effect of antcin A on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-induced metabolic changes in the Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced human monocytes (THP-1) using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) and MetaboAnalyst 5.0 software. The cytotoxic potential of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, antcin A, and dexamethasone was assessed by MTT assay. The metabolomic perturbations and their relation to human coronaviruses' receptors were evaluated by qPCR. This study indicated that the altered metabolites mediated by SARS-CoV-2 protein, such as methionine, phosphoenolpyruvic acid, canadine, glutamine, ethanolamine, and phenylalanine, were significantly reversed by antcin A. In addition, antcin A significantly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated up-regulation of TLR-4 and ACE2 receptors, while GRP78 inhibition was not statistically significant. This is the first study to use ¹H-NMR to investigate SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-induced metabolomic changes in PMA-induced THP-1 cells. Antcin A significantly reversed metabolomic alters while dexamethasone failed to fix them. Therefore, we believe that antcin A could be a potential candidate for therapeutic agents for viral infections related to a metabolic abnormality.