This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Harmful masses that accompany regular spinal or intrathecal infusions of opiates for pain management might one day be a concern of the past. Researchers have uncovered the cellular mechanisms behind these lesions, which occur with some opioids but not others. Their findings could help improve spinal pain therapy for patients without compromising their health or quality of life. Intrathecal opioids such as morphine are highly effective for managing pain. Direct access to opioid receptors in the spinal cord has made round-the-clock pain management possible, most notably through the use of so-called “pain pumps”. One concern, however, has been the possible formation of collagen-rich masses around the area of drug delivery. These masses, or granulomas, occur in about 8% of patients receiving spinal morphine infusions and have been linked, ironically, to increased pain and reduced neurological function..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"It may be surprising to learn that drugs like morphine can actually make it harder to heal from injuries, including surgery. Researchers report that using opioids to manage this type of acute pain can make the pain last longer, potentially drawing out the need for pain relief. Although it’s unclear exactly why this happens, scientists are beginning to uncover some of the physiological causes of this delayed healing. And they think it has something to do with the brain’s immune system. That conclusion comes from an in-depth look at how morphine affects recovery in mice. Using a mouse model of orthopedic surgery, researchers looked at the consequences of postoperative morphine use. Mice were subjected to tibial fracture and repair and given a 7-day course of either morphine or an inactive vehicle. Some mice underwent a sham operation – they were anesthetized and received skin incisions, but no bone fracture – followed by the same treatment regimen..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students discuss several human reproductive technologies available today pregnancy ultrasound, amniocentesis, in-vitro fertilization and labor anesthetics. They learn how each technology works, and that these are ways engineers have worked to improve the health of expecting mothers and babies.

Myofascial trigger-points are a hot topic in the world of pain management. The issue that most critics have with myofascial trigger-points or other tissue-driven pain problem is that it is an oversimplification of a very complex process. It is still not know if our manual treatments are ‘correcting a local pathology' or if it just sensory input leading to a cascade response through the nervous system resulting in the 'descending modulation' of the pain experience.

Student teams learn about and devise technical presentations on four reproductive technology topics pregnancy ultrasound, amniocentesis, in-vitro fertilization or labor anesthetics. Each team acts as a panel of engineers asked to make a presentation to a group of students unfamiliar with the reproductive technology. Each group incorporates non-lecture elements into its presentation for greater effectiveness. As students learn about the technologies, by creating a presentation and listening to other groups' presentations, they also learn more about the valuable skill of technical communications.