Neurologic Correlates of Gait Abnormalities in Cerebral Palsy: Implications for Treatment

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common movement disorder in children. A diagnosis of CP is often made based on abnormal muscle tone or posture, a delay in reaching motor milestones, or the presence of gait abnormalities in young children. Neuroimaging of high-risk neonates and of children diagnosed with CP have identified patterns of neurologic injury associated with CP, however, the neural underpinnings of common gait abnormalities remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we review the nature of the brain injury in CP, as well as the neuromuscular deficits and subsequent gait abnormalities common among children with CP. We first discuss brain injury in terms of mechanism, pattern, and time of injury during the prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal period in preterm and term-born children. Second, we outline neuromuscular deficits of CP with a focus on spastic CP, characterized by muscle weakness, shortened muscle-tendon unit, spasticity, and impaired selective motor control, on both a microscopic and functional level. Third, we examine the influence of neuromuscular deficits on gait abnormalities in CP, while considering emerging information on neural correlates of gait abnormalities and the implications for strategic treatment. This review of the neural basis of gait abnormalities in CP discusses what is known about links between the location and extent of brain injury and the type and severity of CP, in relation to the associated neuromuscular deficits, and subsequent gait abnormalities. Targeted treatment opportunities are identified that may improve functional outcomes for children with CP. By providing this context on the neural basis of gait abnormalities in CP, we hope to highlight areas of further research that can reduce the long-term, debilitating effects of CP

KINEMATIC AND KINETIC ANALYSIS OF THE ELITE GOLF SWING

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between select biomechanical variables and clubhead speed at impact (CSI) in a sample of elite golfers. Power generation is thought to arise from a number of factors including body rotation and weight shift. CSI is often used to indicate power generation (Fradkin, et al., 2004). We hypothesized that CSI would be highly related to torque, relative hip-shoulder rotation (X-factor) and weight shift during the golf swing

Carbon Fiber Insoles Enhance Perception of Performance Despite Variable Objective Outcomes: Specific to the Moderately Active Individual

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(4): 885-897, 2023. Carbon fiber insoles (CFIs) may benefit performance in elite athletes, however, their use in moderately active individuals has been adopted without evidence supporting such enhancements in this population. Fifteen male subjects performed vertical jump (VJ) and repeat treadmill sprint tests before and after a VO2peak while wearing 1) CFIs and 2) control insoles (CON). Subjects completed a subjective survey regarding their perceived performance abilities for both conditions. There were no significant differences between CFIs and CON in VJ height, sprint distance, heart rate following sprints; and rate of oxygen consumption, perceived fatigue, and perceived exertion at 85% of maximal speed (p \u3e 0.05) during the VO2peak. At maximal speed, although there was no difference between conditions in peak rate of oxygen consumption (95%CI [-4.85, 0.21]) and respiratory exchange ratio (95%CI [-0.01, 0.03]), CFIs resulted in a reduced level of perceived fatigue (95%CI [-1, 0]) and perceived exertion (95%CI [-2, 0]) compared to CON. Subjects subjectively reported increased feelings of “propulsion or explosiveness” (p = 0.026) and being able to “perform better while jumping” (p = 0.029) while wearing CFIs. Heightened perceptions of performance enhancements when wearing CFIs indicate, in the moderately active, perceptual benefits could be more influential for determining CFI use

The ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ of male household decision-making and economic authority in Rwanda and its implications for gender transformative programming

This paper explores two key norms that can underpin intimate partner violence (IPV) in Rwanda: men’s role as economic provider and decision-making authority in the household. It describes the political, legal and socio-economic factors affecting these norms and how they create opportunities and barriers to ‘undoing’ restrictive gender norms. The findings are drawn from an evaluation of Inadshyikirwa, an IPV prevention programme operating in Rwanda. Across 3 intervention sectors, 24 focus groups were conducted with unmarried and married men and women residing in intervention communities. 30 interviews with couples and 9 interviews with opinion leaders were conducted before they completed programme trainings designed to shift gender norms underlying IPV. The data indicates a strong awareness of and accountability to Rwandan laws and policies supporting women’s economic empowerment and decision-making, yet also persisting traditional notions of men as household heads and primary breadwinners. Transgression of these norms could be accommodated in some circumstances, especially those involving economic necessity. The data also identified an increasing recognition of the value of a more equitable partnership model. This paper highlights the importance of carefully assessing cracks in the existing gender order that can be exploited to support gender equality and non-violence

Ovarian follicular cells have innate immune capabilities that modulate their endocrine function

Oestrogens are pivotal in ovarian follicular growth, development and function, with fundamental roles in steroidogenesis, nurturing the oocyte and ovulation. Infections with bacteria such as Escherichia coli cause infertility in mammals at least in part by perturbing ovarian follicle function, characterised by suppression of oestradiol production. Ovarian follicle granulosa cells produce oestradiol by aromatisation of androstenedione from the theca cells, under the regulation of gonadotrophins such as FSH. Many of the effects of E. coli are mediated by its surface molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding to the Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), CD14, MD-2 receptor complex on immune cells, but immune cells are not present inside ovarian follicles. The present study tested the hypothesis that granulosa cells express the TLR4 complex and LPS directly perturbs their secretion of oestradiol. Granulosa cells from recruited or dominant follicles are exposed to LPS in vivo and when they were cultured in the absence of immune cell contamination in vitro they produced less oestradiol when challenged with LPS, although theca cell androstenedione production was unchanged. The suppression of oestradiol production by LPS was associated with down-regulation of transcripts for aromatase in granulosa cells, and did not affect cell survival. Furthermore, these cells expressed TLR4, CD14 and MD-2 transcripts throughout the key stages of follicle growth and development. It appears that granulosa cells have an immune capability to detect bacterial infection, which perturbs follicle steroidogenesis, and this is a likely mechanism by which ovarian follicle growth and function is perturbed during bacterial infection

Tick Extracellular Vesicles Enable Arthropod Feeding and Promote Distinct Outcomes of Bacterial Infection

Extracellular vesicles are thought to facilitate pathogen transmission from arthropods to humans and other animals. Here, we reveal that pathogen spreading from arthropods to the mammalian host is multifaceted. Extracellular vesicles from Ixodes scapularis enable tick feeding and promote infection of the mildly virulent rickettsial agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum through the SNARE proteins Vamp33 and Synaptobrevin 2 and dendritic epidermal T cells. However, extracellular vesicles from the tick Dermacentor andersoni mitigate microbial spreading caused by the lethal pathogen Francisella tularensis. Collectively, we establish that tick extracellular vesicles foster distinct outcomes of bacterial infection and assist in vector feeding by acting on skin immunity. Thus, the biology of arthropods should be taken into consideration when developing strategies to control vector-borne diseases

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i=19.9 over 10,000 square degrees to measure BAO to redshifts z<0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Lyman alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g<22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15<z<3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Lyman alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z=0.3 and z=0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Lyman alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D_A(z) and H^{-1}(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z~2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS.Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A

Partnering With Stakeholders to Inform the Co-Design of a Psychosocial Intervention for Prenatally Diagnosed Congenital Heart Disease

Input from diverse stakeholders is critical to the process of designing healthcare interventions. This study applied a novel mixed-methods, stakeholder-engaged approach to co-design a psychosocial intervention for mothers expecting a baby with congenital heart disease (CHD) and their partners to promote family wellbeing. The research team included parents and clinicians from 8 health systems. Participants were 41 diverse parents of children with prenatally diagnosed CHD across the 8 health systems. Qualitative data were collected through online crowdsourcing and quantitative data were collected through electronic surveys to inform intervention co-design. Phases of intervention co-design were: (I) Engage stakeholders in selection of intervention goals/outcomes; (II) Engage stakeholders in selection of intervention elements; (III) Obtain stakeholder input to increase intervention uptake/utility; (IV) Obtain stakeholder input on aspects of intervention design; and (V) Obtain stakeholder input on selection of outcome measures. Parent participants anticipated the resulting intervention, HEARTPrep, would be acceptable, useful, and feasible for parents expecting a baby with CHD. This model of intervention co-design could be used for the development of healthcare interventions across chronic diseases