Assessing and Enhancing Movement Quality Using Wearables and Consumer Technologies: Thematic Analysis of Expert Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Improvements in movement quality (ie, how well an individual moves) facilitate increases in movement quantity, subsequently improving general health and quality of life. Wearable technology offers a convenient, affordable means of measuring and assessing movement quality for the general population, while technology more broadly can provide constructive feedback through various modalities. Considering the perspectives of professionals involved in the development and implementation of technology helps translate user needs into effective strategies for the optimal application of consumer technologies to enhance movement quality. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to obtain the opinions of wearable technology experts regarding the use of wearable devices to measure movement quality and provide feedback. A secondary objective was to determine potential strategies for integrating preferred assessment and feedback characteristics into a technology-based movement quality intervention for the general, recreationally active population. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (age: mean 42, SD 9 years; 5 males) between August and September 2022 using a predetermined interview schedule. Participants were categorized based on their professional roles: commercial (n=4) and research and development (R&D; n=8). All participants had experience in the development or application of wearable technology for sports, exercise, and wellness. The verbatim interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis in QSR NVivo (release 1.7), resulting in the identification of overarching themes and subthemes. RESULTS: Three main themes were generated as follows: (1) "Grab and Go," (2) "Adjust and Adapt," and (3) "Visualize and Feedback." Participants emphasized the importance of convenience to enhance user engagement when using wearables to collect movement data. However, it was suggested that users would tolerate minor inconveniences if the benefits were perceived as valuable. Simple, easily interpretable feedback was recommended to accommodate diverse audiences and aid understanding of their movement quality, while avoiding excessive detail was advised to prevent overload, which could deter users. Adaptability was endorsed to accommodate progressions in user movement quality, and customizable systems were advocated to offer variety, thereby increasing user interest and engagement. The findings indicate that visual feedback representative of the user (ie, an avatar) should be used, supplemented with concise text or audible instructions to form a comprehensive, multimodal feedback system. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides insights from wearable technology experts on the use of consumer technologies for enhancing movement quality. The findings recommend the prioritization of user convenience and simplistic, multimodal feedback centered around visualizations, and an adaptable system suitable for a diverse audience. Emphasizing individualized feedback and user-centric design, this study provides valuable findings around the use of wearables and other consumer technologies to enhance movement quality among the general population. These findings, in conjunction with those of future research into user perspectives, should be applied in practical settings to evaluate their effectiveness in enhancing movement quality.

Proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in caprine milk during experimentally induced endotoxin mastitis.

The goal of the current study was to identify proteins in goat milk before and at 18 h following intramammary challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Initial evaluation of protein profiles generated using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis on skim milk samples from a group of 6 goats collected before challenge and at 18, 24, and 48 h after LPS challenge revealed little change in the abundance of casein proteins, and minimal changes in the presence or abundance of the plasma protein serum albumin, which is known to leak into milk during coliform mastitis in dairy cattle. Proteins in baseline milk samples and in milk from the same goats 18 h post-LPS challenge were excised from the gels, and peptides were sequenced using nano-flow liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Despite the overwhelming presence of casein proteins and ß-lactoglobulin, the lower abundance proteins ß-2-microglobulin, fatty acid-binding protein, serum albumin, and retinol-binding protein were detected in skim milk samples from healthy goats. Skim milk samples 18 h postchallenge were characterized by the sustained presence and abundance of the casein proteins, and by the presence of haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, lactoferrin, cathelicidin-1, and cathelicidin-3. No marked differences in the intensity of the spot corresponding to serum albumin were observed in gels of skim milk samples 18 h postchallenge, which could indicate that the breakdown of the blood-milk barrier during endotoxin mastitis may not be as profound in goats as has been observed in dairy cattle. Nonetheless, the occurrence of an inflammatory response was supported by elevated somatic cell counts in the goat milk following inoculation with endotoxin, as well as by the presence of both antimicrobial and acute phase proteins. The results provide information about the composition of proteins in goat milk as well as added knowledge of the host response during endotoxin mastitis in goats.

The Role of Multi-Sensor Measurement in the Assessment of Movement Quality: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Movement quality is typically assessed by drawing comparisons against predetermined movement standards. Movements are often discretely scored or labelled against pre-set criteria, though movement quality can also be evaluated using motion-related measurements (e.g., spatio-temporal parameters and kinematic variables). Wearable technology has the potential to measure and assess movement quality and offer valuable, practical feedback. OBJECTIVES: A systematic approach was taken to examine the benefits associated with multi-sensor and multiple wearable-device usage, compared with unimodal applications, when assessing movement quality. Consequently, this review considers the additional variables and features that could be obtained through multi-sensor devices for use in movement analyses. Processing methods and applications of the various configurations were also explored. METHODS: Articles were included within this review if they were written in English, specifically studied the use of wearable sensors to assess movement quality, and were published between January 2010 and December 2022. Of the 62,635 articles initially identified, 27 papers were included in this review. The quality of included studies was determined using a modified Downs and Black checklist, with 24/27 high quality. RESULTS: Fifteen of the 27 included studies used a classification approach, 11 used a measurement approach, and one used both methods. Accelerometers featured in all 27 studies, in isolation (n = 5), with a gyroscope (n = 9), or with both a gyroscope and a magnetometer (n = 13). Sampling frequencies across all studies ranged from 50 to 200 Hz. The most common classification methods were traditional feature-based classifiers (n = 5) and support vector machines (SVM; n = 5). Sensor fusion featured in six of the 16 classification studies and nine of the 12 measurement studies, with the Madgwick algorithm most prevalent (n = 7). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review highlights the differences between the applications and processing methods associated with the use of unimodal and multi-sensor wearable devices when assessing movement quality. Further, the use of multiple devices appears to increase the feasibility of effectively assessing holistic movements, while multi-sensor devices offer the ability to obtain more output metrics.

Piperine protects epilepsy associated depression: a study on role of monoamines.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In patients with epilepsy, a common comorbidity diagnosed is depression. Temporal lobe epilepsy or post status epilepticus (SE) animal model establish and validate the co morbidity and common pathogenesis of depression and epilepsy. Elevation in serotonin concentration gives an inhibitory response to epileptic discharge and stabilizes the depressed mood disorder. Piperine is a potent monoaminooxidase inhibitor and stimulates the synthesis of serotonin. So the present work is undertaken to investigate the effect of piperine on depression associated with by status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Status epilepticus was induced in the rats by administration of pilocarpine 350 mg/kg i.p.. Behaviour tests like forced swimming test (FST), saccharin consumption test, actophotometer test and rotarod test were conducted. Antidepressant effect and neuroprotective effect of piperine (25 mg/kg, p.o. for 10 days) in post status epilepticus animal model was evaluated. Brain serotonin concentration was also estimated. Fluoxetine (20 mg/kg p.o.) was used as standard. RESULTS: Only piperine but not fluoxetine significantly increased the decrease in number of rotations of wheel in FST, and decrease volume of saccharine consumption caused by pilocarpine. Both fluoxetine and piperine significantly increase the pilocarpine induced decrease in activity score in actophotometer, time taken to fall in rotarod and concentration of serotonin in brain. DISCUSSION: The underlying mechanism behind depression in epilepsy may be alteration in monoaminergic pathways and GABAergic pathways. The antidepressant activity of piperine in post-SE rats may be attributed to its MAO inhibitor activity and neuroprotective activity.

Author Correction: Measuring light scattering and absorption in corals with Inverse Spectroscopic Optical Coherence Tomography (ISOCT): a new tool for non-invasive monitoring.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Measuring light scattering and absorption in corals with Inverse Spectroscopic Optical Coherence Tomography (ISOCT): a new tool for non-invasive monitoring.

The success of reef-building corals for >200 million years has been dependent on the mutualistic interaction between the coral host and its photosynthetic endosymbiont dinoflagellates (family Symbiodiniaceae) that supply the coral host with nutrients and energy for growth and calcification. While multiple light scattering in coral tissue and skeleton significantly enhance the light microenvironment for Symbiodiniaceae, the mechanisms of light propagation in tissue and skeleton remain largely unknown due to a lack of technologies to measure the intrinsic optical properties of both compartments in live corals. Here we introduce ISOCT (inverse spectroscopic optical coherence tomography), a non-invasive approach to measure optical properties and three-dimensional morphology of living corals at micron- and nano-length scales, respectively, which are involved in the control of light propagation. ISOCT enables measurements of optical properties in the visible range and thus allows for characterization of the density of light harvesting pigments in coral. We used ISOCT to characterize the optical scattering coefficient (µs) of the coral skeleton and chlorophyll a concentration of live coral tissue. ISOCT further characterized the overall micro- and nano-morphology of live tissue by measuring differences in the sub-micron spatial mass density distribution (D) that vary throughout the tissue and skeleton and give rise to light scattering, and this enabled estimates of the spatial directionality of light scattering, i.e., the anisotropy coefficient, g. Thus, ISOCT enables imaging of coral nanoscale structures and allows for quantifying light scattering and pigment absorption in live corals. ISOCT could thus be developed into an important tool for rapid, non-invasive monitoring of coral health, growth and photophysiology with unprecedented spatial resolution.

Dietary bovine lactoferrin induces changes in immunity level and disease resistance in Asian catfish Clarias batrachus.

The effects of including bovine lactoferrin (Lf) in the diet of the Asian catfish (Clarias batrachus) on specific and non-specific immunity as well as disease resistance were investigated. The catfish were fed four different diets for 2 weeks: a commercial diet as control and the same diet supplemented with 50, 100 and 200mg bovine Lf/kg feed. After 1 and 2 weeks, serum bacterial agglutination titre against Aeromonas hydrophila as a measure of specific immunity; natural serum haemolysin titre, lysozyme activity and oxidative radical production by neutrophils as a measure of non-specific immunity as well as disease resistance against A. hydrophila challenge to vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals were evaluated. The results showed that Lf supplements, particularly at 100mg level, significantly (P<0.05) enhanced serum lysozyme level, oxidative radical production and level of protection against A. hydrophila challenge in non-vaccinated animals irrespective of length of exposure. The specific immunity was not influenced by Lf feeding as evidenced from the bacterial agglutination titre and level of protection in vaccinated animals. As Lf feeding at 100mg/kg for 1 week is able to enhance the non-specific immunity and disease resistance of catfish efficiently, these results support the possible use of Lf as an immunostimulant for farmed catfish.

Blastopore formation in the animal hemisphere: functional inversion of gastrulation by centrifugation of Xenopus laevis eggs.

Eggs of Xenopus laevis and many other amphibians contain a gradient of yolk platelets along the animal-vegetal axis. Small platelets predominate in the animal hemisphere, and a boundary between medium and large yolk platelets exists near the equator. The blastopore forms at this boundary at the beginning of gastrulation, in the vegetal hemisphere. Does this boundary have a role in determination of the position of the blastopore, or does cortical information predominate? Past experiments using 1g to invert the egg showed a distinct tendency to form the blastopore in the original vegetal hemisphere. Our experiments, however, have used 20g centrifugation to achieve a more complete inversion of the yolk gradient. The blastopore formed in the original animal hemisphere in >95% of surviving gastrulae, if centrifugation was begun at normalized time 0.20-0.25 of the first cell cycle. Nearly normal larvae (DAI grades 4 and 5) form in 64% of cases (ave. DAI = 3.2). These data support the idea that the position of the blastopore depends on the position of the egg's internal contents rather than cortical determinants.

Seminoma in hybrid catfish [Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus) female x Clarias gariepinus (Burchell) male].

Spontaneous testicular tumors, seminoma, were noticed in four male hybrid catfish (C. batrachus female x C. gariepinus male) after the age of two years. The hybrids showed massive abdominal swelling with catchectic body and free lobulated, encapsulated tumors (> 325 g) within the serosanguinous fluid-filled peritoneal cavities. The tumor cells were large and polyhedral with prominent centrally located nuclei. Other vital organs appeared normal. It seems to be the first report of seminoma in hybrid catfish and possibly of genetic cause.

A comparative study on the effect of felodipine and propranolol on serum lipid profile of rabbits.

Effect of felodipine on serum lipids of rabbits was studied and was compared with that of propranolol. Lipid parameters were estimated at basal (0 wk), end of 4th and 16th week of diet/drug administration by using standard kits for analysis. There was a significant increase in mean serum cholesterol, TG, VLDLc, LDLC and decrease in HDLc, (P<0.05) in the group of rabbits receiving Atherogenic diet (AD)/Propranolol. This effect was maximally observed in rabbits receiving both AD and propranolol. This change was satisfactorily prevented when felodipine was administered from very beginning (P<0.001). In addition, there was a significant increase in HDLc (28.89%) of rabbits receiving felodipine from beginning. Thus both AD and propranolol have dyslipidemic effect and early administration of felodipine favorably changes all lipid parameters.

Measurement of total protein in plant samples in the presence of tannins.

A method for measuring total protein in situ in plant samples has been developed using the determination of amino acids released by acid hydrolysis of dried plant material. Standard proteins and plant samples were hydrolyzed with 3% sulfuric acid at 100 degrees C for 24 h and the amino acids released were measured with ninhydrin. Unhydrolyzed plant extracts were also analyzed for free amino acids with ninhydrin. Total amino acid equivalents (protein plus free amino acids) of a diverse set of plant samples was significantly correlated with total protein as estimated by elemental analysis (N X 6.25). The Lowry method as modified by precipitation of proteins with trichloroacetic acid was found to be unsatisfactory for dried plant samples due to the incomplete extractability of proteins. Although some alkaloids caused increased absorbance with ninhydrin, interference with quantification of protein is likely to be minimal. Tannins interfered with the Lowry and Bradford methods but not the ninhydrin method.

Chemical correlates of rhesus monkey food choice: The influence of hydrolyzable tannins.

Feeding behavior was quantified of free-ranging adult rhesus monkeys in the Himalayan foothills of northern Pakistan. Twenty-eight food and 63 nonfood plant samples were collected and analyzed for tannins, alkaloids, fiber, lignin, protein, amino acids, total nonstructural carbohydrates, and free glucose. Most major foods of the rhesus were low in tannins and high in nutrients. The rhesus ate mainly parts of herbaceous plants, although woody plants were more abundant, possibly because herbs were lower in condensed tannins than woody plants. Feeding was negatively correlated with the astringency of tannins, ellagitannins, and total phenolics among all samples. Among leaves of both herbs and woody plants, feeding was negatively correlated with measures of hydrolyzable tannins. Total protein, total nonstructural carbohydrates, and water were not related to food choice and may not have been limiting at the site.

Cross-Cultural Research on Anorexia Nervosa: Assumptions Regarding the Role of Body Weight.

OBJECTIVE: To critically examine two assumptions guiding cross-cultural research on the weight concerns of anorexia nervosa: (1) that weight concerns are specific to contemporary, Western manifestations of the disorder and (2) that the dissemination of Western values regarding thinness is primarily responsible for the development of anorexia nervosa in non-Western contexts. METHOD: A review of theoretical and empirical literature on cross-cultural aspects of anorexia nervosa and the medical records of 14 Asian patients treated for eating disorders in Sydney, Australia. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Regarding the first assumption: It is argued that weight concerns when defined as weight loss that is positively valued (rather than a fat phobia) is a defining characteristic of anorexia nervosa and is not limited to contemporary, Western cases of the disorder. Regarding the second assumption: It is argued that the occurrence of anorexia nervosa in non-Western contexts cannot be solely attributed to the acceptance of Western thinness ideals because values and practices intrinsic to non-Western cultures are also likely to be etiologically relevant.