Mirror Therapy for the Lower-Extremities Post-Stroke

Despite extensive rehabilitation post-stroke gait remains slow, variable and asymmetric. There is a need for simple interventions to improve lower-extremity motor control and walking ability. Mirror therapy is a promising intervention though little attention has focused on its use on the lower-extremities post-stroke. This thesis investigates the feasibility and potential effects of a bilateral lower-extremity mirror therapy intervention (LE-MT) post-stroke. A case series involving three participants, who performed twelve 30 minute sessions of LE-MT over four weeks, is presented. Session duration and number of repetitions completed improved over the course of the intervention indicating LE-MT post-stroke is feasible. Some cases demonstrated improved motor recovery of the leg and clinically meaningful improvements to gait velocity and step variability post-intervention indicating some potential benefits of LE-MT. Future directions will identify who may respond best to LE-MT, investigate the dose-response relationship and the underlying mechanisms of the observed improvements associated with LE-MT

Team of Destiny

It\u27s been 20 years since a harmonious convergence of leadership, character, teamwork and good fortune propelled Furman to the I-AA football championship

Refutations and the logic of practice

When arguments are refuted in mathematics classrooms, the ways in which they are refuted can reveal something about the logic of practice evolving in the classroom, as well as about the epistemology that guides the teachers’ teaching. We provide four examples that illustrate refutations related to the logic of practice, in which sufficiency and relevance are grounds for refutation, as opposed to falsehood. Refutaciones y la lógica de la práctica Cuando los argumentos son refutados en las aulas de matemáticas, las maneras en que estos son refutados pueden revelar algo acerca del desarrollo de la lógica de la práctica en el aula, así como de la epistemología que guía la enseñanza. Presentamos cuatro ejemplos que ilustran refutaciones relacionadas con la lógica de la práctica, en los que la suficiencia y pertinencia y no la falsedad son los motivos de refutación.Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10481/1601

Refutaciones y la Lógica de la Práctica

When arguments are refuted in mathematics classrooms, the ways in which they are refuted can reveal something about the logic of practice evolving in the classroom, as well as about the epistemology that guides the teachers’ teaching. We provide four examples that illustrate refutations related to the logic of practice, in which sufficiency and relevance are grounds for refutation, as opposed to falsehood.Cuando se refutan argumentos en el aula, las maneras en que se refutan pueden revelar algo acerca del desarrollo de la lógica de la práctica en el aula, así como de la epistemología que guía la enseñanza. Presentamos cuatro ejemplos que ilustran refutaciones relacionadas con la lógica de la práctica, en los que la suficiencia y pertinencia, y no la falsedad, son los motivos de refutación

Refutations and the logic of practice

When arguments are refuted in mathematics classrooms, the ways in which they are refuted can reveal something about the logic of practice evolving in the classroom, as well as about the epistemology that guides the teachers’ teaching. We provide four examples that illustrate refutations related to the logic of practice, in which sufficiency and relevance are grounds for refutation, as opposed to falsehood. Refutaciones y la lógica de la práctica Cuando los argumentos son refutados en las aulas de matemáticas, las maneras en que estos son refutados pueden revelar algo acerca del desarrollo de la lógica de la práctica en el aula, así como de la epistemología que guía la enseñanza. Presentamos cuatro ejemplos que ilustran refutaciones relacionadas con la lógica de la práctica, en los que la suficiencia y pertinencia y no la falsedad son los motivos de refutación.Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10481/1601

An analysis of interactions between fluorescently-tagged mutant and wild-type SOD1 in intracellular inclusions

By mechanisms yet to be discerned, the co-expression of high levels of wild-type human superoxide dismutase 1 (hSOD1) with variants of hSOD1 encoding mutations linked familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) hastens the onset of motor neuron degeneration in transgenic mice. Although it is known that spinal cords of paralyzed mice accumulate detergent insoluble forms of WT hSOD1 along with mutant hSOD1, it has been difficult to determine whether there is co-deposition of the proteins in inclusion structures.In the present study, we use cell culture models of mutant SOD1 aggregation, focusing on the A4V, G37R, and G85R variants, to examine interactions between WT-hSOD1 and misfolded mutant SOD1. In these studies, we fuse WT and mutant proteins to either yellow or red fluorescent protein so that the two proteins can be distinguished within inclusions structures.Although the interpretation of the data is not entirely straightforward because we have strong evidence that the nature of the fused fluorophores affects the organization of the inclusions that form, our data are most consistent with the idea that normal dimeric WT-hSOD1 does not readily interact with misfolded forms of mutant hSOD1. We also demonstrate the monomerization of WT-hSOD1 by experimental mutation does induce the protein to aggregate, although such monomerization may enable interactions with misfolded mutant SOD1. Our data suggest that WT-hSOD1 is not prone to become intimately associated with misfolded mutant hSOD1 within intracellular inclusions that can be generated in cultured cells

Exploring the multifunctionality of a giant commercial microgel

Microgels are soft colloidal particles composed of networks of cross-linked polymers used in a variety of industrial products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and personal care items. The attraction of using microgels is their ability to tune the rheology of suspensions by reversibly swelling, often triggered in response to stimuli such as pH or temperature. However, recently the research is focussed on their emulsifying capabilities which is a result of their polymer building blocks. Much of the literature is focussed on ‘model’ microgel systems synthesised for research but there are no reports on the commercial microgel considered here used in many personal care products. In this thesis, a commercial microgel system composed of a block co-polymer called Sepimax Zen (SZ) was analysed to understand its rheology modifying and emulsifying capabilities and the results were discussed in the context of existing literature on model microgel systems. In addition to bridging the gap between model and commercial systems, we aim to understand how the polymer-colloid duality of microgels determines the intrinsic functions of microgel particles. The rheological profile of the SZ microgels was tested using a combination of steady shear and oscillatory rheology. Steady state measurements revealed that at sufficiently dilute concentrations the suspensions behave as Newtonian liquids, however, once a critical concentration (0.03 wt%) has been reached they reveal shear thinning behaviour. At higher concentrations (0.08 wt%) a yield stress develops indicating the formation of a network structure. Oscillatory measurements revealed the nature of these networks with strain measurements indicating that microgels form networks by interpenetrating their polymeric chains, similar to polymers. The resultant networks were found to be ‘soft’ set gels when compared to other microgel systems with a cross link density of 1500 monomers per crosslink. In order to understand the dynamics and to determine the size of the SZ microgels Differential Dynamic Microscopy (DDM) was used. DDM measures the dynamics of a population of colloids via image analysis, allowing the mobility and the size of individual colloids to be characterised. From these measurements SZ microgels were found to be 2.7 µm in radius at low concentrations < 0.03 wt%, above which their mobility is greatly reduced, coinciding with the onset of shear thinning. The reduced mobility is likely due to the attractive interactions between SZ microgels where surface chains entangle, since similar results are predicted for adhesive spheres. The response to salt was also investigated by exposing the microgel to a range in concentrations of NaCl from 0.001 mM to 2000 mM. Unexpectedly, the microgel is considerably tolerant of salt, only reducing in size at a high critical concentration of 200 mM NaCl at which it reduces in size by a factor of 2; an important observation when considering them in commercial formulations. In order to simulate the effect crowding has on this microgel a non-excluding polymer called Ficoll-400 was used to tune the osmotic pressure of suspensions. At the highest Ficoll-400 concentration SZ microgel particles were found to deswell from 2.7 µm down to 0.52 µm, a much larger decrease than observed with other microgel systems. As one of the first studies to analyse microgel particles using DDM these results demonstrate how valuable DDM is to provide insight into the rheology of these soft particle systems. Using a combination of pendant drop tensiometry and cryo-SEM measurements the stabilisation of a n-dodecane-water interface by SZ microgels was determined. SZ microgels were found to significantly reduce the interfacial tension by building up layers of microgels on the surface of the interface. These SZ-stabilised interfaces are highly elastic, E 0 > 20 mN/m, E 00 < 1 mN/m, similar to colloid-laden interfaces. The interfacial elasticity was dependent on size of the microgel, as deswollen microgels resulted in more effectively packed interfaces resulting in more elastic interfaces, E 0 increases to almost 30 mN/m. A surprising observation was that SZ-stabilised interfaces appeared to be immune to buckling, a phenomenon observed when particle-laden interfaces are destabilised. We conclude this effect is due to SZ microgel particles associative behaviour and solubility. When significantly disturbed by an interface SZ microgel particles detach in order to associate with other microgel particles in the bulk. This phenomenon has been seen in a few microgel systems, however, this work is the first to investigate it in detail. These findings could have a profound effect on how microgels are made given their multifunctional properties In the final chapter the effect SZ has on emulsion stability and rheology is analysed. SZ-stabilised oil-in-water emulsions were found to make emulsion-filled gels. The oil drops initially behave as passive fillers and then appear to behave as active fillers at φ ≈ 20 %, increasing the elasticity of the emulsion gels. Furthermore, SZ-stabilised emulsions are stable only up to 30 wt%, considerably lower than for other emulsion systems. We conclude that this is a result of the large microgel particles associating only lightly at the interface and therefore the emulsion becomes active when microgel-laden emulsion droplets are in contact (at φ ≈ 20 %) and is unstable when emulsion droplets are closer than one microgel particle apart. The stability of emulsions were tested by combining the results of centrifugation and drying experiments. The centrifugation experiments determined the critical disjoining pressure, the pressure at which the oil is dispelled from the matrix, which was found to be similar to traditional surfactant systems. The drying experiments revealed that emulsions dried down to a partially coalesced emulsion film, separated by a thin polymeric film which is similar to studies on surfactant-stabilised systems. This thesis explores the properties of a commercial microgel system and contrasts the results to model microgel systems. The SZ microgels were found to be highly unusual giant microgels, much larger than previously studied microgel systems, exhibiting both colloidal and polymeric behaviour. Through combining the rheological and DDM measurements, this thesis provides a standard for studying microgels and other soft matter systems. The results of this thesis form a strong basis for developing a framework for designing microgels with dual functionality, preventing emulsion coalescence and creaming, as required for industrial applications. Future work could focus on understanding the adsorption of microgels at the interfaces of different oils i.e. more polar oils

Uso de la amilasa termoestable de Bacillus licheniformis en la digestibilidad in vitro del almidón de sorgo y maíz

Varias enzimas celulolíticas se han usado para incrementar la digestion ruminal de la fibra y mejorar la producción en rumiantes. Sin embargo, se ha dado poca atención a las enzimas amilolíticas como un tratamiento a los granos, a pesar de que la productividad del ganado puede mejorar con el uso de mezclas de enzimas externas, incluyendo amilasas y celulasas. Así, se incubó sorgo, sorgo rolado con vapor y maíz (500 mg de grano), con fluido ruminal para estudiar el efecto de la adición de alfa-amilasa de Bacillus licheniformis (400 mL) en la digestibilidad in vitro del almidón a las 12 h de fermentación. La incubación (bloque) fue repetida tres veces y los resultados se analizaron bajo un diseño de Bloques Completos al Azar Generalizado, utilizando la interacción bloque por tratamiento para estimar el error experimental. No se detectó interacción entre tipo de grano y enzima. La adición de la enzima termoestable incrementó (p<0.0001) la digestión in vitro del almidón (59.9 vs. 38.5%). La digestión in vitro promedio del almidón (p<0.0001) fue más baja en el sorgo (30.42%), intermedia en el sorgo rolado con vapor (50.72%), y más alta en el maíz (66.48%). La adición de la amilasa termoestable de Bacillus licheniformis incrementó la digestión in vitro del almidón del sorgo y maíz; por lo tanto, esta enzima podría mejorar la digestión in vivo del almidón y la eficiencia alimenticia de dietas basadas en granos con tasas bajas e intermedias de fermentación

Health Risk of Obesity in Native American Adolescents

Recent reports demonstrate the need to improve methods for identifying obesity among adolescent minority populations, especially among Native American adolescents. Our study examined several anthropometric measures to see which one was the best indicator of obesity for Native American adolescents. We compared our data with that provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the national Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANESIII). We examined which measures differed significantly from the NHANESIII, and which were most effective for measuring obesity in Native American adolescents. Our study population represented a cross-sectional, epidemiological population (n=183) of Native American students (ages 14-18) from diverse tribal backgrounds at an urban residential high school. We obtained baseline anthropometric measurements of height, weight, waist, triceps skin-fold, and calf skin-fold measures from the Native American students and compared this information with reference data to assess weight classification by body mass indices (BMI) for our population. Under the conditions of our study, we found the calf skin-fold measure to be the best indicator of normal weight in male Native American adolescents, and the triceps skin-fold measure to be the best indicator of obesity in male Native American adolescents. The assessment of health risk by anthropometric measures we obtained appears appropriate for predicting obesity and developing effective interventions for Native American adolescents in general. Correlations between anthropometric measures and obesity in our study population may prove of significant interest for monitoring obesity prevention initiatives for Native American adolescents