One ot the many impacts of natural disasters on the well-being of the humans who experience them is ontorced abandonment and loss of companion animals. Hurricane Katrina, whioh struck the gulf coast of the United States in late August, 2005, was suoh a disaster. This study assessed the psyohologtcal effects of pef loss on suiwors of Hurricane Katrina. Sijcty-five predominantly wtiite, female, middle-aged pet owners who lived in affected regions of the country completed online questionnaires, assessing symptoms of depression, acute stress, peri-traumatic dissociation, and posttraumatio stress disorder (FTSD). Almost all companion animals were oats or dogs. Pet ioss was strongly associated with psyohopathology across all measures, even when controlling for displacement from the home (Wilks' Lambda F(4 57, = 5.22, p = 0.001). The impact of pet bss on FTSD was mediated by aoute stress and dissociative symptoms during the evacuation (both F(, g,, > 9.3. both p < 0.01). This suggests that forced abandonment of a companion animal during an evacuation adds considerably to the aoute trauma, thereby increasing the risk of longterm PTSD. The impact of pet loss on depressive symptoms, however, was Independent of acute stress and dissociation {F,T31) = 15.03, p = 0.001), suggesting that it is both the aoute loss of the pet as well as the continued absence of the pet itself that contributes to depressive symptom severity.

Bioelectronic interfaces have been extensively investigated in recent years and advances in technology derived from these tools, such as soft and ultrathin sensors, now offer the opportunity to interface with parts of the body that were largely unexplored due to the lack of suitable tools. The musculoskeletal system is an understudied area where these new technologies can result in advanced capabilities. Bones as a sensor and stimulation location offer tremendous advantages for chronic biointerfaces because devices can be permanently bonded and provide stable optical, electromagnetic, and mechanical impedance over the course of years. Here we introduce a new class of wireless battery-free devices, named osseosurface electronics, which feature soft mechanics, ultra-thin form factor and miniaturized multimodal biointerfaces comprised of sensors and optoelectronics directly adhered to the surface of the bone. Potential of this fully implanted device class is demonstrated via real-time recording of bone strain, millikelvin resolution thermography and delivery of optical stimulation in freely-moving small animal models. Battery-free device architecture, direct growth to the bone via surface engineered calcium phosphate ceramic particles, demonstration of operation in deep tissue in large animal models and readout with a smartphone highlight suitable characteristics for exploratory research and utility as a diagnostic and therapeutic platform.

Digital medicine, the ability to stream continuous information from the body to gain insight into health status, manage disease, and predict onset health problems, is only gradually developing. Key technological hurdles that slow the proliferation of this approach are means by which clinical grade biosignals are continuously obtained without frequent user interaction. To overcome these hurdles, solutions in power supply and interface strategies that maintain high-fidelity readouts chronically are critical. This work introduces a previously unexplored class of devices that overcomes the limitations using digital manufacturing to tailor geometry, mechanics, electromagnetics, electronics, and fluidics to create unique personalized devices optimized to the wearer. These elastomeric, threedimensional printed, and laser-structured constructs, called biosymbiotic devices, enable adhesive-free interfaces and the inclusion of high-performance, far-field energy harvesting to facilitate continuous wireless and battery-free operation of multimodal and multidevice, high-fidelity biosensing in an at-home setting without user interaction.

No abstract

The System Usability Scale (SUS) is a ten-point assessment tool developed as a reliable low-cost subjective usability scale that can be applied to systems in any number of contexts. Research has demonstrated higher usability ratings from users who claim greater experience with an interface than from those who rate themselves as having less experience. This paper describes research to extend this work by experimentally controlling the experience levels of the users over the course of the study, rather than relying on users' self-report. Two studies were conducted. In the first, Microsoft Publisher was used over three one hour sessions, with usability being measured with the SUS at the completion of each session. In the second study, MathWorks MATLAB was used over the course of 14 weeks, and SUS usability was measured near the beginning, the middle and end of this time frame. Results from the MS publisher study showed an increase in reported usability with increased experience consistent with the literature, but the data from the MATLAB study did not show this trend. Reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, as are future research directions that could shed further light on these unexpected findings.