Botulism Toxin and its Affects on Spasticity

Abstract Spasticity is a symptom associated with spinal cord injury patients that is caused from an influx in excitatory and inhibitory signals controlling muscles and reflexes generating a pattern of spasms in a period of time. When not treated properly adverse effects include: contractures, respiratory arrest, pain, paralysis and decrease in efficiency of nursing and therapeutic care. Interventions including medications (i.e. baclofen, dantrolene, gabapentin), physical therapy, surgery and orthotic devices are used to decrease spasticity however show minimal effect, short duration and multiple side effects. These side effects include dizziness, weakness, confusion, headaches, nausea and constipation. Recent research has shown that injections of botulism toxin (Botox), binds to chlorogenic nerve terminals to decrease the production of acetylcholine preventing contraction with minimal side effects, ultimately targeting both spasticity and pain, reducing stiffness and promoting muscle relaxation. The purpose of this research study is to determine if the administration of Botulism Toxin in spastic muscles to hospitalized spinal cord injury patients decrease a patient’s spasticity level less than 4 as measured by the Ashworth Spasticity Scale. This scale measures from 0-4 with 0 being no rigidity or spasticity and 4 being full limb rigidity in flexion and extension. The goal of the injections is to reduce the level from the patient’s preliminary scale to a decreased rate. Data will be collected through a literature review involving spinal cord injury patients’ spasticity and botulism toxin used as an intervention. Conclusions will be made based on analyzing the trends on administration of botulism toxin and score from the Ashworth Spasticity Scale. This project will help expand on previous interventions and studies to cross analyze the most beneficial intervention for spasticity identifying future improvements and care. Keywords: Botox, spasticity, spinal cord injury, Ashworth Spasticity Scal

Examining the Effects of Social Isolation on Nicotine Preference and Mesolimbic Dopamine

Factors relating to social interaction have been shown to alter patterns of psychostimulant use in preclinical and clinical models. The present study aimed to determine the effects of social isolation on nicotine preference using conditioned place preference (CPP) and the effects social isolation and nicotine exposure on reward-related dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Regarding CPP results, there was a significant housing (group or isolated) x drug (nicotine or saline) x trial interaction on time spent in the drug-paired chamber. Regarding dopamine recordings, there was a significant housing x drug exposure (nicotine or saline) x time (60 min recording period) interaction on percent change in dopamine half-life following cocaine. At cocaine\u27s peak effect, isolation and nicotine exposure both independently increased this dopaminergic response, but an interactive effect between these variables was not significant. Identifying risk factors for drug abuse is critical for prevention and treatment programs

Crossflow : A framework for distributed mining of software repositories

Large-scale software repository mining typically requires substantial storage and computational resources, and often involves a large number of calls to (rate-limited) APIs such as those of GitHub and StackOverflow. This creates a growing need for distributed execution of repository mining programs to which remote collaborators can contribute computational and storage resources, as well as API quotas (ideally without sharing API access tokens or credentials). In this paper we introduce Crossflow, a novel framework for building distributed repository mining programs. We demonstrate how Crossflow can delegate mining jobs to remote workers and cache their results, and how workers can implement advanced behaviour such as load balancing and rejecting jobs they cannot perform (e.g. due to lack of space, credentials for a specific API)

Interface Contracts for Workflow+ Models: an Analysis of Uncertainty across Models

Workflow models are used to rigorously specify and reason about diverse types of processes. The Workflow+ (WF+) framework has been developed to support unified modelling of the control and data in processes that can be used to derive assurance cases that support certification. However, WF+ is limited in its support for precise contracts on workflow models, which can enable powerful forms of static analysis and reasoning. In this paper we propose a mechanism for adding interface contracts to WF+ models, which can thereafter be applied to tracing and reasoning about the uncertainty that arises when combining heterogeneous models. We specifically explore this in terms of design models and assurance case models. We argue that some of the key issues in managing some types of uncertainty can be partly addressed by use of interface contract

Comparison of Gilt Behavior when Fed Ad Libitum or Twice Daily

The objective of this study was to compare two divergent feeding patterns and evaluate their impact on gilt behavior. Eleven gilts were provided ad libitum access to feed (ad lib) and 12 gilts were allowed to eat twice daily (2x). Video of gilt behavior was analyzed 51 days after the start of feed treatments. Gilts fed 2x tended to stand more, spent longer interacting with environmental enrichment, and spend less time eating than ad lib gilts. These results suggest that feeding regimen slightly altered the behavior of individually housed gilts

Quantum Control of Trapped Polyatomic Molecules for eEDM Searches

Ultracold polyatomic molecules are promising candidates for experiments in quantum science, quantum sensing, ultracold chemistry, and precision measurements of physics beyond the Standard Model. A key, yet unrealized, requirement of these experiments is the ability to achieve full quantum control over the complex internal structure of the molecules. Here, we establish coherent control of individual quantum states in a polyatomic molecule, calcium monohydroxide (CaOH), and use these techniques to demonstrate a method for searching for the electron electric dipole moment (eEDM). Optically trapped, ultracold CaOH molecules are prepared in a single quantum state, polarized in an electric field, and coherently transferred into an eEDM sensitive state where an electron spin precession measurement is performed. To extend the coherence time of the measurement, we utilize eEDM sensitive states with tunable, near-zero magnetic field sensitivity. The spin precession coherence time is limited by AC Stark shifts and uncontrolled magnetic fields. These results establish a path for eEDM searches with trapped polyatomic molecules, towards orders-of-magnitude improved experimental sensitivity to time-reversal-violating physics