Neural pathways of movement fractionation

PhD THesis PhD ThesisStroke is a common neurological event which often results in motor deficits of the hand and arm. The reticulospinal tract (RST) may partly underlie residual hand and arm movement ability after a stroke but remains poorly characterised. A greater understanding of the RST could inform work to improve motor recovery. Additionally, the development of non-invasive methods of probing the RST in humans should allow comparison of the characteristics of the RST across species. It has been suggested that the RST is involved in mediating muscle responses to auditory startle, experimentally known as the StartReact paradigm. However, it was not clear how this pathway was involved. A human experiment presented here suggests that the RST comprises the final pathway in the StartReact effect, confirming it as a technique to probe the RST in humans. Other factors such as habituation and the validity of a marker of the StartReact effect were also further explored; these findings may inform future use of the technique. The output divergence, co-activation patterns, level of fractionation and synergies produced by the RST were further characterised in macaques and baboons; these factors had previously been mostly unexplored. In macaques, two subdivisions of primary motor cortex (M1) were also characterised in order to compare to the RST. These subdivisions are based upon the presence of corticomotoneuronal (CM) cells, and consist of ‘old’ (CM cells absent) and ‘new’ (CM cells present) M1. Stimulation of new M1 produced a higher level of fractionation of movement than stimulation of old M1 and the reticular formation (RF). The RF is suggested to produce slightly more fractionated behaviour than old M1, though the baboon RF responses may be less fractionated than those from macaque old M1. Output divergence of the RF as well as old and new M1 was also explored. However, methodological limitations may have biased the results towards muscles with more excitable motoneurons, or monosynaptic connections. Abstract ii In baboons, threshold stimulation elicited responses in upper limb and axial muscles only, with higher stimulation intensities or trains of pulses required to activate leg muscles. In contrast to long-held beliefs about RST output, distal upper limb muscles were more commonly activated than proximal ones. Previously reported attempts to record natural electromyography (EMG) data from macaques were limited to controlled experimental settings, and hence may have differed from EMG observed during truly natural behaviours. Here, EMG was recorded from 18 muscles in one macaque over several hours of natural, untrained activity in her home cage. Two matrix decomposition algorithms extracted three to four dominant synergies from the data. This number is comparable to that previously described for ‘natural’ behaviour in more controlled conditions, suggesting that it accurately reflects the dominant synergies used across both conditions. Future work should aim to delineate the respective contributions of the RST and corticospinal tract to natural movement and to develop approaches to manipulate RST projections in humans to improve post-stroke motor outcomes

Reflect & Connect- Helping Students Make the Most of Their Study Abroad Experience

In our world of internationalization and global networking, students that study abroad have a definite advantage when transitioning into the professional world after graduating college. However, when asked, many have a difficult time articulating and marketing their international experience. When transitioning back to the United States and campus culture, students also go through varying degrees of reverse culture shock. They want to talk about their experience and share their newfound love of another culture, however many run into disinterested friends and glossy eyes. The Education Abroad office at Central Palm International University is looking to expand their outreach and commitment to returning study abroad students. Beyond a photo contest and volunteering at the study abroad fair, students need opportunities and resources for making the most of their study abroad experience. Therefore, this capstone is a proposal to make a course focused on successful re-entry for past participants. “Reflect & Connect - Make the Most of Your Study Abroad Experience” course curriculum provides reflective opportunities and professional development with structured activities and guest speakers. The course aims to provide a safe and constructive space for activities to help students grow and excel in this global environment through reflection

Lessons from Other Democracies: Ideas for Combatting Mistrust and Polarization in US Elections

Protections are baked into each stage of US election administration. Yet, there is a crisis of confidence in US elections. After falling to a record low following the 2020 elections, trust in US elections increased after the 2022 midterms. However, far too many Americans continue to harbor mistaken beliefs about the prevalence of widespread fraud and miscounted votes, as well as concerns about the ability of election officials to administer future elections fairly. Malign actors—both foreign and domestic—are taking advantage of and reinforcing these trends to serve their varied interests, including geopolitical advantage and monetary gain.Adopting best practices from other countries is an opportunity to buttress policies and procedures that make US elections free and fair and draw inspiration from others facing the same challenges. With its decentralized election system and state "laboratories of democracy", the United States is well suited for incremental, location-specific adaptation of new ideas

Deterring Threats to Election Workers: Recommendations for the DOJ task force

False claims of a stolen election in 2020 shook U.S. democracy to its foundation, seeding ideas and establishing behavior that will reverberate in elections for years to come. The unprecedented number of false claims alleging election fraud in 2020 ignited a barrage of threats against election workers in what had traditionally been a very low threat environment.The right to vote cannot be protected unless election officials are permitted to do their jobs free from improper partisan influence, harassment, and abuse. If perpetrators of threats face no consequences for their actions, many of the workers who safeguarded the most secure U.S. election ever, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), may choose not to work in future elections, risking election integrity.To help protect election workers from threats—and the foreseeable consequences of such threats on the integrity of future U.S. elections—the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) established an Election Threats Task Force last year that included members from the Criminal Division, the Civil Rights Division, the National Security Division, and the FBI. The Task Force has been notified of hundreds of threats, but progress on investigations and prosecutions has been too slow.Threats against election officials and the January 6th insurrection embody dire threats to our democracy, and both deserve the full attention of the DOJ

Probing the Evaporation Dynamics of Ethanol/Gasoline Biofuel Blends Using Single Droplet Manipulation Techniques

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Stronger together: evidence for collaborative action on neglected tropical diseases

This editorial has been written by programme leads at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK to condense the learning shared across articles. Articles within this supplement have been written and led by authors in Nigeria and Liberia, and informed by learnings from across the partnership including from our partners in Ghana and Cameroon and articles previously published. Early career researchers were supported throughout the COUNTDOWN programme to publish evidence and lead the production of impactful papers. Decision makers and local implementers from each context are also authors on the papers within the supplement and were supported to engage with the writing process

Community drug distributors for mass drug administration in neglected tropical disease programmes: systematic review and analysis of policy documents

Background Mass drug administration (MDA) programmes for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) depend on voluntary community drug distributors (CDDs) to deliver drugs, and these volunteer schemes need regular training and supervision. NTD policy now includes integration of multiple disease programmes, but we are unsure if there is clarity in what is currently expected of CDDs and how they are managed. We therefore analysed World Health Organization (WHO) policy, strategy and implementation guidance, and select national NTD programme implementation plans. Methods Included are a) WHO global and WHO-Regional Office for Africa guidelines, strategies, operational manuals and meeting reports published between January 2007 to February 2018 that included policy and plans for CDDs; and b) national NTD programme master plans for Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria. For both review components, we examined the CDD responsibilities through a framework developed iteratively against the documents and prepared a narrative synthesis. Results Twenty WHO policy documents met the inclusion criteria. In the twelve global and eight regional documents, the CDD role was not explicitly or comprehensively defined. Three documents mentioned CDDs will distribute drugs; some mentioned health promotion, data handling and engagement in clinical care. Four WHO documents noted a need for CDD training or management, eight detailed some aspect of this, and one regional document provided a comprehensive overview. In the national plans, additional responsibilities included case management in two countries and transmission control in two countries. Every plan included training and supervision, but this was not always explicit, and details of the purpose and frequency varied. In all national plans, CDD motivation was identified as a challenge but not comprehensively addressed, although one document mentioned provision of bicycles. Conclusions WHO and national policies and plans assume CDDs will implement NTD programmes. However, there is almost no clear delineation of responsibilities, nor is there up-to-date practical guidance to guide managers. This ambiguity, in relation to the lack of explicit policies or programmatic guidance, probably impairs the effectiveness of NTD programmes