Influence of motor imagination on cortical activation during functional electrical stimulation

<b>Objective</b> Motor Imagination (MI) and Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) can activate the sensory-motor cortexthrough efferent and afferent pathways respectively. Motor Imagination can be used as a control strategy to activate FES through a Brain-computer interface as the part of a rehabilitation therapy. It is believed that precise timing between the onset of MI and FES is important for strengthening the cortico-spinal pathways but it is not known whether prolonged MI during FES influences cortical response.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Electroencephalogram was measured in ten able-bodied participants using MI strategy to control FES through a BCI system. Event related synchronisation/desynchronisation (ERS/ERD) over the sensory-motor cortex was analysed and compared in three paradigms: MI before FES, MI before and during FES and FES alone activated automatically.<p></p> <b>Results</b> MI practiced both before and during FES produced strongest ERD. When MI only preceded FES it resulted in a weaker beta ERD during FES than when FES was activated automatically. Following termination of FES, beta ERD returns to the baseline level within 0.5 s while alpha ERD took longer than 1 s.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> When MI and FES are combined for rehabilitation purposes it is recommended that MI is practiced throughout FES activation period.<p></p> <b>Significance</b> The study is relevant for neurorehabilitation of movement.<p></p&gt

Is our legal heritage at risk? What might be done to rescue private sector legal records

Private sector legal records are at risk of becoming lost or inaccessible through globalization, digital obsolescence, physical neglect, lack of interest on the part of information owners or reduced archive resources to preserve and provide access to the records. All records in the private sector face similar challenges, but modern legal records (early twentieth century to the present day) are particularly vulnerable due to recent developments which are transforming the nature, organisation, regulation and economics of legal services. These changes are outstripping the capacity of the traditional providers of legal research facilities to make relevant records available to researchers. Additionally, unless systematic efforts are made towards collecting private sector legal records, research using modern legal records will continue to be weighted towards the study of the legislation and the courts, producing a lopsided historical picture of the UK’s legal framework. In this article the authors explain concerns about the potential loss of legal records from the private legal sector and outline the ways in which the Legal Records at Risk research project at the IALS aims to investigate the issues and help identify possible solutions

Clinical relevance of examiner position on the objective alternating cover test

Background: Although the alternate cover test is a widely accepted test of ocular alignment, clinical ambiguity exists regarding the specific location of the examiner. This study was an attempt to replicate the findings of a previous study that compared two examiner positions and their effect on heterophoric measurement at 40cm. Methods: Fifty-seven adult subjects (mean age, 24.0 +I-2.88 years) with healthy binocular systems were measured for heterophoric posture during the cover test while the examiner position was varied between midline and 30 degrees to the right of patient midline. Results: A significant difference between midline and offset position of 1.3A was found (P\u3c0.001). The results show that a greater exophoric measurement was seen when the examiner performs the test in the offset position. Discussion: A 1.3A difference in examiner positions demonstrates a statistically significant difference between examiner positions. This difference, it seems, is related to proximal awareness or prismatic measurement error. Given the small magnitude of the effect, its importance in clinical care is probably most relevant in patients with high phorias or intermittent strabismus. Examiner position may also contribute to variability in cover test measures between examiners or on test-retest

Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women's Funds

In recent years, interest in philanthropy for and by women has intensified, accompanied by a growing acceptance of the idea that philanthropic investments in women and girls can accelerate positive change in communities. To understand this evolution in thinking and practice within philanthropy, the Foundation Center partnered with the Women's Funding Network, a global movement of women's funds, to chart the current landscape of philanthropy focused on women and girls and document the specific role played by women's funds

The experiences of migrants to Australia who stutter

Purpose: Migration is a contemporary, global matter. With the number of international migrants doubling over the past four decades, speech-language pathologists will likely work with migrants who have childhood-onset stuttering. However, combined migration and stuttering experiences have never been investigated specifically. This study is the first to investigate the experiences of migrants to Australia who stutter. Methods: Three women and six men, aged 23 to 66 years old, participated. Data from individual interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to examine the ‘lived experience’ of participants, as well as with NVivo 12 software for the management of coding. Participants also completed The Overall Assessment of the Speaker\u27s Experience of Stuttering (OASES™). Results: The stress experienced from migration interacted and compounded the existing stress of stuttering. Central themes emerged pertaining to the impact of increased stress on self-identity, the interactions of the stresses, as well as the coping strategies/facilitators. Stuttering and other personal factors, such as language(s) spoken and accent, had a negative impact on communication skills. Conclusion: Migration cannot be experienced independently of a stutter, as both are intrinsically linked to self-identity. The combined stress of migration with stuttering amplified the perception of feeling abnormal and resulted in difficulties with establishing a stable self-identity and a sense of belonging in the new context. Participants found strength in the company of others and considered Australia to be accepting of stuttering

Undernutrition and stage of gestation influence fetal adipose tissue gene expression

Funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), including the Strategic Partnership for Animal Science Excellence (SPASE) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (HD045784). None of the authors had any financial or personal conflicts of interest.Peer reviewedPostprin

Quality assurance of qualitative research: a review of the discourse

BACKGROUND: Increasing demand for qualitative research within global health has emerged alongside increasing demand for demonstration of quality of research, in line with the evidence-based model of medicine. In quantitative health sciences research, in particular clinical trials, there exist clear and widely-recognised guidelines for conducting quality assurance of research. However, no comparable guidelines exist for qualitative research and although there are long-standing debates on what constitutes 'quality' in qualitative research, the concept of 'quality assurance' has not been explored widely. In acknowledgement of this gap, we sought to review discourses around quality assurance of qualitative research, as a first step towards developing guidance. METHODS: A range of databases, journals and grey literature sources were searched, and papers were included if they explicitly addressed quality assurance within a qualitative paradigm. A meta-narrative approach was used to review and synthesise the literature. RESULTS: Among the 37 papers included in the review, two dominant narratives were interpreted from the literature, reflecting contrasting approaches to quality assurance. The first focuses on demonstrating quality within research outputs; the second focuses on principles for quality practice throughout the research process. The second narrative appears to offer an approach to quality assurance that befits the values of qualitative research, emphasising the need to consider quality throughout the research process. CONCLUSIONS: The paper identifies the strengths of the approaches represented in each narrative and recommend these are brought together in the development of a flexible framework to help qualitative researchers to define, apply and demonstrate principles of quality in their research

Magnesium sulfate has sex-specific, dose-dependent vasodilator effects on preterm placental vessels

Background Women at risk of preterm delivery receive magnesium sulfate (MgSO 4 ) in the pre-delivery phase to reduce their child\u27s risk of neurodevelopmental complications associated with preterm birth. However, the mechanisms underpinning its placental vascular role remain uncertain. Methods The aim of this study was to examine MgSO 4 action on vascular tone in male and female human placental vessels from term and preterm deliveries. Vessels were obtained from placental biopsy following birth at term (37-41 weeks) or preterm gestation (gestation). The vessels were mounted on a pressure myograph, pre-constricted with synthetic endoperoxide prostaglandin PGH 2 (U46619) (0.1-100 μmol/l), and percentage of relaxation was calculated following incubation with bradykinin. Experiments were carried out in the presence of MgSO 4 (0.2 mmol/l), N Ψ -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (0.1 mmol/l), indomethacin (10 μmol/l), Ca 2+ -activated K + channel blocker TRAM-34 (1 μM) and apamin (3 μM) to assess mechanisms of vascular function. Vascular [calcium ions (Ca 2+ )] was analysed using a colorimetric calcium assay. Results Vasodilation in vessels from preterm males was significantly blunted in the presence of MgSO 4 when compared to preterm female and term male and female vessels. Overall, MgSO 4 was observed to differentially modulate placental vascular tone and vascular calcium concentrations in a sex-specific manner. Conclusions As MgSO 4 regulates human placental blood flow via specific pathways, foetal sex-specific MgSO 4 treatment regimes may be necessary. In an era of increasing awareness of individualised medicine, sex-specific effects may be of importance when developing strategies to optimise care in high-risk patients