This paper reports on a project that looked at the meaning stroke survivors assigned to assistive devices. Material culture theory served as a framework to help stroke survivors explicitly consider [dis]ability as a discursive object with a socially constructed meaning that influenced how they thought about themselves with impairment. Material culture theory informed the design (taking and talk...

This work examined if currently available electromyography (EMG) driven models, that are calibrated to satisfy joint moments about one single degree of freedom (DOF), could provide the same musculotendon unit (MTU) force solution, when driven by the same input data, but calibrated about a different DOF. We then developed a novel and comprehensive EMG-driven model of the human lower extremity th...

Prosthetic devices are designed to increase the action possibilities of an amputee. Appropriate actions with upperextremity prostheses are only possible when these devices can be controlled dexterously. Importantly, the control signals of the neuromotor system necessary to perform a goal-directed action with a prosthesis differ from those control signals used to perform an action with an intact...

A microfluidic device with analytical chambers for electrochemical measurements has been employed to detect photosynthetic activity at single cell level. The flowing cells (Microcystis viridis) in a main channel are individually guided to the chamber with microelectrodes by an electrophoretic manipulation. The reduction current of oxygen was continuously monitored to determine the photosynthe...

UNLABELLED Persons with rheumatoid arthritis use assistive devices to enable them, in spite of impaired hand dexterity and grip strength, to manage Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The aim of the research was to lay the foundation for a list of essential assistive devices through determining which assistive devices for ADL were most often used and requested, investigating whether there was a c...

A qualitative study was conducted in Victoria to explore factors affecting the acceptability and use of assistive devices by older people. Four focus groups and fifteen home-based interviews were conducted with older people (mean age 77 years) who had been issued with 2 or more assistive devices. Analysis of the data indicated that almost all participants were content to be advised by professio...

This paper describes an on-going effort in building user-centric automation and assistive devices from workflows. Advantages of this approach include that workflow-based devices and systems are naturally componentized and easily configurable. Models of a new device, user actions and users defined in terms of activities and workflows are executable. We can use them to simulate the device and its...

Proteomics is the study of the collection of proteins (the proteome) expressed in a given system. The field of proteomics can be divided into three subtypes: • profiling – identification and quantification of the proteins in a sample and drawing comparisons between samples, • functional – the study of the behavior of specific proteins, and • structural – the study of protein folding and the com...

Miniaturization of laboratory instrumentation is becoming critical in achieving the speed and throughput required by the current revolutionary progress in biology. This mini review critically summarizes the present status of microfluidic devices designed for use in mass spectrometry.