The role of Doctor of Nursing Practice programs' mission, vision, and values statements in the development of students' professional identity: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of university and program mission, vision, and values statements in shaping Doctor in Nursing Practice (DNP) programs' curricula and their students' professional identity is insufficiently understood. DESIGN: This qualitative research project explored how these statements inform DNP program curricula and contribute to the development of the professional identity of students SETTING: Three DNP programs in the U.S. American Midwest participated in this research. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included students, alumni, and faculty from these three programs. METHODS: 33 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The transcriptions were analyzed, using the Grounded Theory approach, and the results were interpreted in light of the statements of participating programs. RESULTS: While a wide range of themes related to interviewees' professional identity was identified, it became apparent that students' professional identity is centered on (1) being citizens engaged in social, democratic, and political processes, (2) building caring relationships and communities, and (3) addressing health inequities. Such priorities are explicitly aligned with the statements of participating programs. CONCLUSIONS: The results (1) highlight the potential of statements to foster students' development of a professional identity as DNPs and (2) underscore that this identity is aligned with nursing programs' specific mission and values.

Development of the Biomech-Wrist: A 3-DOF Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation and Training of Human Wrist.

This work describes a three-degrees-of-freedom rehabilitation exoskeleton robot for wrist articulation movement: the Biomech-Wrist. The proposed development includes the design requirements based on the biomechanics and anthropometric features of the upper limb, the mechanical design, electronic instrumentation, software design, manufacturing, control algorithm implementation, and the experimental setup to validate the functionality of the system. The design requirements were set to achieve human wrist-like movements: ulnar-radial deviation, flexion-extension, and pronation-supination. Then, the mechanical design considers the human range of motion with proper torques, velocities, and geometry. The manufacturing consists of 3D-printed elements and tubular aluminum sections resulting in lightweight components with modifiable distances. The central aspect of the instrumentation is the actuation system consisting of three brushless motors and a microcontroller for the control implementation. The proposed device was evaluated by considering two control schemes to regulate the trajectory tracking on each joint. The first scheme was the conventional proportional-derivative controller, whereas the second was proposed as a first-order sliding mode. The results show that the Biomech-Wrist exoskeleton can perform trajectory tracking with high precision ( RMSEmax = 0.0556 rad) when implementing the sliding mode controller.

Forearm sEMG data from young healthy humans during the execution of hand movements.

This work provides a complete dataset containing surface electromyography (sEMG) signals acquired from the forearm with a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. The dataset is named WyoFlex sEMG Hand Gesture and recorded the data of 28 participants between 18 and 37 years old without neuromuscular diseases or cardiovascular problems. The test protocol consisted of sEMG signals acquisition corresponding to ten wrist and grasping movements (extension, flexion, ulnar deviation, radial deviation, hook grip, power grip, spherical grip, precision grip, lateral grip, and pinch grip), considering three repetitions for each gesture. Also, the dataset contains general information such as anthropometric measures of the upper limb, gender, age, laterally of the person, and physical condition. Likewise, the implemented acquisition system consists of a portable armband with four sEMG channels distributed equidistantly for each forearm. The database could be used for the recognition of hand gestures, evaluation of the evolution of patients in rehabilitation processes, control of upper limb orthoses or prostheses, and biomechanical analysis of the forearm.

Musculoskeletal Neural Network path generator for a virtual upper-limb active controlled orthosis.

In this paper, a non-parametric model of the neuromusculoskeletal system for the biceps brachii is presented. The model serves to generate angular paths for the control of a virtual active orthosis. The path generator uses a differential neural network (DNN) identifier that obtains the reference angular position and velocities using the raw electromyographic (EMG) signals as input. The model is validated using experimental data. The training and closed-loop implementation of the proposed model are described. The control strategy ensures that the user reaches a set-point with a predefined position constraint and that the device follows the natural reference path that corresponds to the raw EMG signal.

Robust min-max optimal control design for systems with uncertain models: A neural dynamic programming approach.

The design of an artificial neural network (ANN) based sub-optimal controller to solve the finite-horizon optimization problem for a class of systems with uncertainties is the main outcome of this study. The optimization problem considers a convex performance index in the Bolza form. The dynamic uncertain restriction is considered as a linear system affected by modeling uncertainties, as well as by external bounded perturbations. The proposed controller implements a min-max approach based on the dynamic neural programming approximate solution. An ANN approximates the Value function to get the estimate of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation solution. The explicit adaptive law for the weights in the ANN is obtained from the approximation of the HJB solution. The stability analysis based on the Lyapunov theory yields to confirm that the approximate Value function serves as a Lyapunov function candidate and to conclude the practical stability of the equilibrium point. A simulation example illustrates the characteristics of the sub-optimal controller. The comparison of the performance indexes obtained with the application of different controllers evaluates the effect of perturbations and the sub-optimal solution.