Pulley Optimization for a Walking-Engine-Actuated Active Ankle-Foot Orthosis

Author:  Donald H. Kuettel III

Active orthotic devices for joint articulation have a vast number of applications that could benefit many people. Examples include joint articulation for people suffering from disabilities, increased load carrying capacity and walking distance for humans, and gait training. The main goal of this research is to help people with disabilities regain natural walking ability by replicating normal walking gait through the use of an active ankle-foot orthosis (AAFO). This research investigates the optimization of a pulley system for the primary actuator of an AAFO utilizing a high-efficiency pneumatic “Walking Engine.”

Opportunity for Pharmaceutical Intervention in Lung Cancer: Selective Inhibition of JAK1/2 to Eliminate EMT-Derived Mesenchymal Cells

Author:  Michael Lai

The Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) has been implicated as a driving force behind the metastasis of epithelial derived cancers; it stimulates the acquisition of a migratory, drug resistant mesenchymal phenotype. Current proposals for targeting EMT-facilitated metastasis are ineffective, as a majority focus on the inhibition of EMT-initiating signals. Instead, this study used a novel approach aimed at directly inhibiting the mesenchymal phenotype by targeting mesenchymal survival pathways post mapping at specifically up-regulated points in the mesenchymal state. 

Effects of High Fructose/Glucose on Nlrp3/Il1β Inflammatory Pathway

Author:  Erinola Araoye, Karina Ckless

The Nod-Like Receptor Protein-3/Interleukin-1β (NLRP3/IL-1β) inflammatory pathway activation is associated with autoimmune diseases including gout, Muckle-Wells syndrome, familial Mediterranean fever and multiple sclerosis. Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance have been associated with chronic inflammation; however, the mechanism by which the NLRP3 inflammatory pathway participates in this condition remains unclear. 

Communicating Discoveries: The Career of Science Journalism

Author:  Hriday Bhambhvani

In our modern information age, communication of data is rapid, and increasingly innovative and impactful research is being conducted and published at a tremendous rate across the world. Simultaneously, the general public is growing more interested in science, with prominent scientific personalities such as Stephen Hawking being catapulted to fame on a global stage. Science journalists hold a crucial role in this dynamic as they seek to bridge the gap between groundbreaking discoveries and the general public.

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Interview With Dr. Nancy Galambos, A Developmental Psychologist

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Author:  Jennifer Charlicki

Dr. Nancy Galambos is a developmental psychologist and professor in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Alberta. Much of her recent research is centered around the changes that occur in various social and developmental aspects of our lives in adolescence, early adulthood, and onwards.

Could Regular Physical Activity Protect Us From Cognitive Decline As We Age?

Author:  Samantha Lefebvre

Could exercise be the key to helping prevent dementia as we age? This question was explored by a longitudinal study at UCLA, where researchers studied the impact of physical activity on dementia. Their findings support that there is an inverse relationship between physical activity levels and cognitive decline.   

Mitochondrial Mishaps Linked to Parkinsons

Author:  Dana Lowry

A recent study from Stanford University suggests that defective mitochondrial clearance may provide the crucial link between genetically and sporadically caused Parkinson’s cases. The researchers have shown that mutations in different genes related to mitochondrial clearance among individuals may cause different ‘types’ of Parkinson’s disease. According to Xinna Wang and her colleagues at Stanford, the Miro protein connects these outlying cases.

ZMapp Trial Gives Hope for Ebola Treatment and Emergency Response

Author:  Joshua Smith-Sreen

The recent Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,000 people and infected more than 28,000 between 2014 and 2016. The outbreak began in the early spring of 2014, when a new variant of the Ebola virus emerged in Guinea and rapidly spread throughout West Africa. This crisis prompted an immediate response from the scientific community to try to develop an effective therapy for the diversity of symptoms, from fever and weakness to bleeding from the eyes, which characterize the viral disease.  Fortunately, a drug was recently found to have the potential to treat the Ebola Virus Disease, according to findings from the clinical trial PREVAIL II in the New England Journal of Medicine on October 13.

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