White Matter Integrity as a Biomarker for Stroke Recovery: Implications for TMS Treatment

White matter consists of myelinated axons which integrate information across remote brain regions. Following stroke white matter integrity is often compromised leading to functional impairment and disability. Despite its prevalence among stroke patients the role of white matter in development of post-stroke rehabilitation has been largely ignored. Rehabilitation interventions like repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are promising but reports on its efficacy have been conflicting. By understanding the role of white matter integrity in post-stroke motor recovery, brain reorganization and TMS efficacy we may be able to improve the development of future interventions. In this dissertation we set out answer these questions by investigating the relationship between white matter integrity and 1) bimanual motor performance following stroke, 2) cortical laterality following stroke and 3) TMS signal propagation (in a group of cocaine users without stroke). We identified white matter integrity of the corpus callosum as a key structure influencing bimanual performance using kinematic measures of hand symmetry (Chapter 2). Second, we found that reduced white matter integrity of corpus callosum was correlated with loss of functional laterality of the primary motor cortex during movement of the affected hand (Chapter 3). Lastly, we found that reduced white matter tract integrity from the site of stimulation to a downstream subcortical target, was correlated to the ability to modulate that target (Chapter 4). Taken together these studies support white matter integrity as a valuable biomarker for future rTMS trials in stroke. To emphasize the implications of these findings, we provide an example of how to incorporate white matter integrity at multiple levels of rTMS study design

Emotion Regulation Deficits in Persons with Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior Disorders

Background Conceptualizations of emotion dysregulation (ED) and body-focused repetitive behavior disorders (BFRBDs) imply that ED may be a central component of BFRBDs as well as a factor that distinguishes BFRBDs from non-impairing, subclinical body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs). The current study empirically tested these observations. Methods One hundred thirty-eight undergraduates (of 1900 who completed a screening survey) completed self-report measures assessing four emotion regulation (ER) deficits hypothesized to underlie ED (alexithymia, maladaptive emotional reactivity, experiential avoidance, and response inhibition when distressed); 34 of these participants had BFRBDs, 64 had subclinical BFRBs, and 42 were unaffected by BFRBs. Results Results indicated that participants with BFRBDs reported higher levels of maladaptive emotional reactivity, experiential avoidance, and response inhibition when distressed than participants with subclinical BFRBs and participants unaffected by BFRBs. These results held even when controlling for comorbidity and total number of reported BFRBs. Participants did not differ on alexithymia. Limitations Limitations of the current study include the BFRB groups’ different distributions of BFRB types (e.g., hair pulling versus skin picking), the sample\u27s demographic uniformity, and the fact that negative affectivity was not controlled when exploring BFRB group differences on ER deficits. Future research should improve on these limitations. Conclusions The current results suggest that ED is a factor that differentiates BFRBDs from subclinical BFRBs. Such results may be useful for generating hypotheses regarding mechanisms responsible for BFRBs’ development into BFRBDs. Furthermore, these results may provide insight into factors that explain the efficacy of more contemporary behavioral treatments for BFRBDs

When and why people misestimate future feelings: Identifying strengths and weaknesses in affective forecasting.

People try to make decisions that will improve their lives and make them happy, and to do so, they rely on affective forecasts-predictions about how future outcomes will make them feel. Decades of research suggest that people are poor at predicting how they will feel and that they commonly overestimate the impact that future events will have on their emotions. Recent work reveals considerable variability in forecasting accuracy. This investigation tested a model of affective forecasting that captures this variability in bias by differentiating emotional intensity, emotional frequency, and mood. Two field studies examined affective forecasting in college students receiving grades on a midterm exam (Study 1, N = 643), and U.S. citizens after the outcome of the 2016 presidential election (Study 2, N = 706). Consistent with the proposed model, participants were more accurate in forecasting the intensity of their emotion and less accurate in forecasting emotion frequency and mood. Overestimation of the effect of the event on mood increased over time since the event. Three experimental studies examined mechanisms that contribute to differential forecasting accuracy. Biases in forecasting intensity were caused by changes in perceived event importance; biases in forecasting frequency of emotion were caused by changes in the frequency of thinking about the event. This is the first direct evidence mapping out strengths and weaknesses for different types of affective forecasts and the factors that contribute to this pattern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Evaluating of the effect of sub-inhibitory concentrations of alcohol on Pseudomonas aeruginosa across different biofilm models

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of life-threatening nosocomial infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals, and therefore poses a significant threat to public health. This is largely due to its ability to form biofilms which reduces its susceptibility to antimicrobials and host immune defences. Whilst antibiotic resistance (ABR) in P. aeruginosa biofilm has been studied extensively, less attention has been paid to the relationship between biofilm and alcohol-based disinfectants. This project aims to explore the extent to which alcohols contribute to biofilm formation in hospital settings by investigating the effect of sub-inhibitory concentrations of ethanol (EtOH) and isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol), both common active ingredients in hand sanitisers, on P. aeruginosa biofilm growth. This was achieved by establishing the tolerance of 58 clinical P. aeruginosa isolates to low concentrations of EtOH and propan-2-ol, quantifying biofilm formation in sub-inhibitory levels of EtOH and determining the effect of sub-inhibitory concentrations of EtOH on established biofilm. Results demonstrate that bacteria were more susceptible to propan-2-ol than EtOH (mean MBC=8.17% and 11.02% respectively), and statistically significant (P< 0.05) variation in response to low levels of alcohol exists between P. aeruginosa isolates belonging to ST111 and ST235. Most significantly, 19 isolates showed significant (P< 0.05) increases in biofilm formation in the presence of 1-3% EtOH compared to 0% EtOH. Finally, P. aeruginosa in established biofilms (post 24-hour incubation at 37°C) were able to withstand greater concentrations of EtOH than in the initial stages of biofilm formation. This suggests diluted alcohol-based disinfectants are capable of stimulating biofilm formation in hospital water systems

Lessons From the Assessment for Learning Project: Strategies for Building an Authentic Learning Community

This article explores findings from an evaluation of the Assessment for Learning Project, a grantee engagement strategy led by the Center for Innovation in Education focused on creating a learning community founded in continuous reflection and safety for risk-taking. The article shares the project’s model and approach, grounded in the core design elements of a field-facing learning agenda, grantmaking that leads with learning, and collective leadership. This article highlights the Assessment for Learning Project’s practices, such as a Request for Learning rather than traditional Request for Proposals; a requirement that grantees provide formative feedback to each other; and public demonstrations of learning in lieu of traditional reporting. And it explores how the project’s design helps flip the script on expertise by encouraging grantees to draw on one another for support and how it promotes a culture of experimentation that deepens learning relationships. Finally, this article points to the role of the project’s leadership team in modeling reflection and vulnerability, co-designing with grantees to bolster their leadership, and expanding its network by strategically connecting grantees to the broader field via a common learning agenda

Assessment of Handling Practices, Utilization and Concentration of Iodine in Iodized Salt at Wondo Genet town, Southern Ethiopia: A Crossectional Study

Iodine deficiency is severe public health problem in Ethiopia. One out of every 1000 population is mentally handicapped due to a congenital thyroid deficiency, and about 50,000 prenatal deaths are occurring annually due to iodine deficiency disorders.nbsp Even though the problem is serious, there were no adequate researches conducted. Therefore, this study focuses on assessment of handling practices of iodized salt and the amount of iodine concentration retained in iodized salts at households and retailers level in Wondo Genet town. The objective of this study was to assess handling practices and concentration of iodine across iodized salt consumption in retailers and households level. Two hundred ninety four households and seventh six retailers were selected by systematic random sampling method for survey using questionnaire and rapid test kit method was used to measure iodine concentration of salt used by the households. The result of this study indicated that iodized salt coverage was found to be 100 % at households and retailers level. Iodine level in the salt examined by iodometric titration, in this study was 4.4 to 70.9 ppm. This indicates the need for further improvement of handling practices of iodized salt. Iodine level in the salt examined by iodometric titration in this study was 60.54% of households and 65.79% retailers salt samples had 15 ndash 40 ppm iodine concentration. This shows that in the iodized salt there is no adequate iodine content in accordance with the nbsprecommendation. Majority of the households 37.4% add iodized salt half way during boiling of the food/coffee. Although the coverage of iodized salt in the study area was high but availability of adequate iodized salt at household level was low as compared to the WHO recommendation.There for this shows that handling practice of iodized salt at the household and retailer level and utilization practice at the household level is poor

Differential Effects of D-Cycloserine and ACBC at NMDA Receptors in the Rat Entorhinal Cortex Are Related to Efficacy at the Co-Agonist Binding Site

Partial agonists at the NMDA receptor co-agonist binding site may have potential therapeutic efficacy in a number of cognitive and neurological conditions. The entorhinal cortex is a key brain area in spatial memory and cognitive processing. At synapses in the entorhinal cortex, NMDA receptors not only mediate postsynaptic excitation but are expressed in presynaptic terminals where they tonically facilitate glutamate release. In a previous study we showed that the co-agonist binding site of the presynaptic NMDA receptor is endogenously and tonically activated by D-serine released from astrocytes. In this study we determined the effects of two co-agonist site partial agonists on both presynaptic and postsynaptic NMDA receptors in layer II of the entorhinal cortex. The high efficacy partial agonist, D-cycloserine, decreased the decay time of postsynaptic NMDA receptor mediated currents evoked by electrical stimulation, but had no effect on amplitude or other kinetic parameters. In contrast, a lower efficacy partial agonist, 1-aminocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid, decreased decay time to a greater extent than D-cycloserine, and also reduced the peak amplitude of the evoked NMDA receptor mediated postsynaptic responses. Presynaptic NMDA receptors, (monitored indirectly by effects on the frequency of AMPA receptor mediated spontaneous excitatory currents) were unaffected by D-cycloserine, but were reduced in effectiveness by 1-aminocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid. We discuss these results in the context of the effect of endogenous regulation of the NMDA receptor co-agonist site on receptor gating and the potential therapeutic implications for cognitive disorders