Background. Impingement syndrome was shown to be associated with shoulder pain in 44–70% of patients worldwide. It usually occurs due to imbalance and insufficient activation of the rotator cuff (RC) muscles. Aim. This study explores the relative effects of handgrip-strengthening exercises on shoulder function, pain, strength, and active range of motion as part of the treatment program for the patients with primary subacromial impingement syndrome. Materials and Methods. A total of 58 patients aged 18-50 years with primary subacromial impingement syndrome were randomly enrolled to participate in this single-blind randomized clinical trial. Out of them, only forty patients have eligibly matched the inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to one of two groups to undergo a standardized therapeutic program consisting of two sessions a week for 8 weeks. The control group prescribed ultrasound therapy, ice, and stretching exercises, while the experimental group followed the same program with the addition of handgrip-strengthening exercises (HGSE). Both patients of conventional therapy (control) and handgrip-strengthening exercises (experimental group) were advised to adhere also to stretching and HGSE exercises once a day at home for eight weeks. The outcomes were the shoulder function, pain intensity, muscle strength, and active range of motion of the shoulder joint. Results. Patients treated with conventional interventions plus handgrip-strengthening exercises showed the significant improvement over time in shoulder pain and function, strength of rotator cuff muscles, and pain-free range of motion forward flexion, abduction, and external and internal rotation through eight weeks in the experimental group compared to control patient group treated with conventional interventions. In addition, patients of both control and experimental groups showed no significant difference in the adherence to respective home-based stretching and HGSE exercises once a day at home for eight weeks. Conclusions. Adding handgrip-strengthening exercises to conventional intervention increases the efficacy of treatment for patients with primary subacromial impingement syndrome in terms of shoulder function, pain, muscle strength, and active range of motion.

Coronavirus (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been identified as a deadly pandemic. The genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 is performed using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique for identifying viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) in infected patients. However, the RT-PCR diagnostic technique is manually laborious and expensive; therefore, it is not readily accessible in every laboratory. Methodological simplification is crucial to combat the ongoing pandemic by introducing quick, efficient, and affordable diagnostic methods. Here, we report how microcantilever sensors offer promising opportunities for rapid COVID-19 detection. Our first attempt was to capture the single-stranded complementary DNA of SARS-CoV-2 through DNA hybridization. Therefore, the microcantilever surface was immobilized with an oligonucleotide probe and detected using complementary target DNA hybridization by a shift in microcantilever resonance frequency. Our results show that microcantilever sensors can discriminate between complementary and noncomplementary target DNA on a micro to nanoscale. Additionally, the microcantilever sensors’ aptitude toward partial complementary DNA determines their potential to identify new variants of coronavirus. Therefore, microcantilever sensing could be a vital tool in the effort to extinguish the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.

In this study, a sensing device employing a gold-coated quartz tuning fork (QTF) modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of L-cysteine was evaluated for the sensitive detection of Cu2+ ions in aqueous solutions. Three copper (II) salts, CuSO4, CuCl2, and Cu(NO3)2, at four different concentrations (10−12, 10−10, 10−8, and 10−6 M) in small (100 μL) water sample amounts were each used as analytes to investigate the influence of their counterions in the detection of the Cu2+ ions. It was found that, among the counterions, the sulfate anion had the largest effect upon the detection of Cu2+ in water, in the following order: SO42− > Cl− > NO3−. The lower limit of detection of the Cu2+ ions detected was in the 10−12 M range. The frequency shifts measured with the QTFs relative to deionized water were inversely proportional to the concentration/mass of the analytes. Density functional theory calculations were conducted to understand the effect of the counterions on the respective electronic interaction energies for the apparent host–guest binding of the analytes with L-cysteine and with gold surface-bound L-cysteine molecules. Gas phase (both with and uncorrected BSSE) and solution phase interaction energies (ΔIE) calculated at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ and ωB97XD levels of theory showed that the stability for the complexes were in the following order: [L-cysteine]⊃[CuSO4] > [L-cysteine]⊃[CuCl2] > [L-cysteine]⊃[Cu(NO3)2], which supports our experimental findings, as they were in the same order as the experimentally observed order for the copper salts tested: CuSO4 > CuCl2 > Cu(NO3)2.

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Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria pose a serious threat to global health, which may be addressed using bacteriophage therapy. It is important to measure the susceptibility of bacteria to bacteriophages. We used a micromechanical sensor with a microfluidic channel for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). The interior surface of the microfluidic channel was functionalized with a molecule linker to capture the bacterial cells inside the channel. The Escherichia coli response to the bacteriophage PhiX174 and Staphylococcus aureus response to the bacteriophage Phi44AHJD is observed. The micromechanical sensor measured the mechanical fluctuations induced by nano-movements of the bacteria, reflecting their metabolic activity, before and after viral infection. In other words, the time-dependent oscillations of the microchannel can be correlated to the membrane movement in the cells produced by the cell metabolisms. The initial magnitudes of the fluctuations were different in the two bacteria. Bacteria exposure to the bacteriophages induced a sharp reduction of the sensor response, indicating a marked decrease in bacterial metabolic activities. In contrast to E. coli, S. aureus was resistant to Phi44AHJD, and the significant reduction in its metabolic activity may be attributed to transient dormancy due to stress caused by the viral interaction. This technique provides a rapid and accurate assessment of the susceptibility of bacteria to bacteriophages in a small volume of 150 picolitres.