White matter fibre density in the brain's inhibitory control network is associated with falling in low activity older adults.

Recent research has indicated that the relationship between age-related cognitive decline and falling may be mediated by the individual's capacity to quickly cancel or inhibit a motor response. This longitudinal investigation demonstrates that higher white matter fibre density in the motor inhibition network paired with low physical activity was associated with falling in elderly participants. We measured the density of white matter fibre tracts connecting key nodes in the inhibitory control network in a large sample (n = 414) of older adults.

Prefrontal activation when suppressing an automatic balance recovery step.

Background: The present study investigated neural mechanisms for suppressing a highly automatic balance recovery step. Response inhibition has typically been researched using focal hand reaction tasks performed by seated participants, and this has revealed a neural stopping network including the Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG). It is unclear if the same neural networks contribute to suppressing an unwanted balance reaction.

Suppressing a Blocked Balance Recovery Step: A Novel Method to Assess an Inhibitory Postural Response.

Stepping to recover balance is an important way we avoid falling. However, when faced with obstacles in the step path, we must adapt such reactions. Physical obstructions are typically detected through vision, which then cues step modification.

Foreshock properties illuminate nucleation processes of slow and fast laboratory earthquakes.

Understanding the connection between seismic activity and the earthquake nucleation process is a fundamental goal in earthquake seismology with important implications for earthquake early warning systems and forecasting. We use high-resolution acoustic emission (AE) waveform measurements from laboratory stick-slip experiments that span a spectrum of slow to fast slip rates to probe spatiotemporal properties of laboratory foreshocks and nucleation processes. We measure waveform similarity and pairwise differential travel-times (DTT) between AEs throughout the seismic cycle.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy measures of neural activity in children with and without developmental language disorder during a working memory task.

Introduction: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) exhibit cognitive deficits that interfere with their ability to learn language. Little is known about the functional neuroanatomical differences between children developing typically (TD) and children with DLD.

Methods: Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we recorded oxygenated hemoglobin (O hb) concentration values associated with neural activity in children with and without DLD during an auditory N-back task that included 0-back, 1-back, and 2-back conditions.

Catching and throwing exercises to improve reactive balance: A randomized controlled trial protocol for the comparison of aquatic and dry-land exercise environments.

Reactive balance, a critical automatic movement pattern in response to a perturbation, is directly linked to fall prevention in older adults. Various exercise interventions have been broadly performed to improve reactive balance and thus prevent falls. Curiously, aquatic exercises have been suggested as an effective balance intervention and a safer alternative to exercises on dry land yet the efficacy of aquatic exercises on reactive balance has not been formally investigated.

Machine Learning Predicts the Timing and Shear Stress Evolution of Lab Earthquakes Using Active Seismic Monitoring of Fault Zone Processes.

Machine learning (ML) techniques have become increasingly important in seismology and earthquake science. Lab-based studies have used acoustic emission data to predict time-to-failure and stress state, and in a few cases, the same approach has been used for field data. However, the underlying physical mechanisms that allow lab earthquake prediction and seismic forecasting remain poorly resolved.

Frequency-Magnitude Statistics of Laboratory Foreshocks Vary With Shear Velocity, Fault Slip Rate, and Shear Stress.

Understanding the temporal evolution of foreshocks and their relation to earthquake nucleation is important for earthquake early warning systems, earthquake hazard assessment, and earthquake physics. Laboratory experiments on intact rock and rough fractures have demonstrated that the number and size of acoustic emission (AE) events increase and that the Gutenberg-Richter -value decreases prior to coseismic failure. However, for lab fault zones of finite width, where shear occurs within gouge, the physical processes that dictate temporal variations in frequency-magnitude (/) statistics of lab foreshocks are unclear.

The High-Frequency Signature of Slow and Fast Laboratory Earthquakes.

Tectonic faults fail through a spectrum of slip modes, ranging from slow aseismic creep to rapid slip during earthquakes. Understanding the seismic radiation emitted during these slip modes is key for advancing earthquake science and earthquake hazard assessment. In this work, we use laboratory friction experiments instrumented with ultrasonic sensors to document the seismic radiation properties of slow and fast laboratory earthquakes.

A method to assess response inhibition during a balance recovery step.

Background: Correlations between falls and individual differences in inhibitory control, suggest the ability to suppress automatic, but unwanted, action is important in fall prevention. Response inhibition has been a topic of considerable interest in the cognitive neuroscience community for many decades, bringing a wealth of techniques that could potentially inform assessment of reactive balance. For example, the stop signal task is a popular method to quantify inhibitory control ability.

Which Exercise Interventions Can Most Effectively Improve Reactive Balance in Older Adults? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Background: Reactive balance is the last line of defense to prevent a fall when the body loses stability, and beneficial effects of various exercise-based interventions on reactive balance in older adults have been reported. However, their pooled evidence on the relative effects has yet to be described.

Objective: To review and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of various exercise-based interventions on reactive balance in older adults.

Pickleball for Inactive Mid-Life and Older Adults in Rural Utah: A Feasibility Study.

Many diseases, disabilities, and mental health conditions associated with aging can be delayed or prevented through regular exercise. Several barriers to exercise, many of which are exacerbated in rural communities, prevent mid-life and older adults from accessing its benefits. However, recently, a racquet sport named pickleball has become popular among older adults, and it appears to overcome some of these barriers.

compensates for in mice in the amino-terminal acetylation pathway.

Amino-terminal acetylation is catalyzed by a set of N-terminal acetyltransferases (NATs). The NatA complex (including X-linked Naa10 and Naa15) is the major acetyltransferase, with 40-50% of all mammalian proteins being potential substrates. However, the overall role of amino-terminal acetylation on a whole-organism level is poorly understood, particularly in mammals.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Future of Brain-Computer Interface in Neurorehabilitation.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a unique technological solution to circumvent the damaged motor system. For neurorehabilitation, the BCI can be used to translate neural signals associated with movement intentions into tangible feedback for the patient, when they are unable to generate functional movement themselves. Clinical interest in BCI is growing rapidly, as it would facilitate rehabilitation to commence earlier following brain damage and provides options for patients who are unable to partake in traditional physical therapy.

Relationship between Speed of Response Inhibition and Ability to Suppress a Step in Midlife and Older Adults.

In young adults, performance on a test of response inhibition was recently found to be correlated with performance on a reactive balance test where automated stepping responses must occasionally be inhibited. The present study aimed to determine whether this relationship holds true in older adults, wherein response inhibition is typically deficient and the control of postural equilibrium presents a greater challenge. Ten participants (50+ years of age) completed a seated cognitive test (stop signal task) followed by a reactive balance test.

Promoting Generalized Learning in Balance Recovery Interventions.

Recent studies have shown balance recovery can be enhanced via task-specific training, referred to as perturbation-based balance training (PBT). These interventions rely on principles of motor learning where repeated exposure to task-relevant postural perturbations results in more effective compensatory balance responses. Evidence indicates that compensatory responses trained using PBT can be retained for many months and can lead to a reduction in falls in community-dwelling older adults.

Acoustic Energy Release During the Laboratory Seismic Cycle: Insights on Laboratory Earthquake Precursors and Prediction.

Machine learning can predict the timing and magnitude of laboratory earthquakes using statistics of acoustic emissions. The evolution of acoustic energy is critical for lab earthquake prediction; however, the connections between acoustic energy and fault zone processes leading to failure are poorly understood. Here, we document in detail the temporal evolution of acoustic energy during the laboratory seismic cycle.

Allovalency observed by transferred NOE: interactions of sulfated tyrosine residues in the N-terminal segment of CCR5 with the CCL5 chemokine.

The N-terminal segment of the chemokine receptor Human CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5), Nt-CCR5, contains four tyrosine residues, Y3, Y10, Y14, and Y15. Sulfation of at least two of these tyrosine residues was found to be essential for high-affinity binding of CCR5 to its chemokine ligands. Here, we show that among the monosulfated Nt-CCR5(8-20) peptide surrogates (sNt-CCR5) those sulfated at Y15 and Y14 have the highest affinity for the CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) chemokine in comparison with monosulfation at position Y10.

Diagnosis of late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis using dried blood spot-based assay for TPPI enzyme activity: TPPI diagnostic assay from DBS.

Background: The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis 2 (NCL2) or classic late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (LINCL) is a neurogenetic disorder caused by mutations in the TPPI gene, which codes for the lysosomal tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPPI) EC 3.4.14.

A Modified Lean and Release Technique to Emphasize Response Inhibition and Action Selection in Reactive Balance.

Assessment of reactive balance traditionally imposes some type of perturbation to upright stance or gait followed by measurement of the resultant corrective behavior. These measures include muscle responses, limb movements, ground reaction forces, and even direct neurophysiological measures such as electroencephalography. Using this approach, researchers and clinicians can infer some basic principles regarding how the nervous system controls balance to avoid a fall.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy based atomistic view of a membrane protein unfolding pathway.

Membrane protein folding, structure, and function strongly depend on a cell membrane environment, yet detailed characterization of folding within a lipid bilayer is challenging. Studies of reversible unfolding yield valuable information on the energetics of folding and on the hierarchy of interactions contributing to protein stability. Here, we devise a methodology that combines hydrogen-deuterium (H/D) exchange and solid-state NMR (SSNMR) to follow membrane protein unfolding in lipid membranes at atomic resolution through detecting changes in the protein water-accessible surface, and concurrently monitoring the reversibility of unfolding.

A biradical-tagged phospholipid as a polarizing agent for solid-state MAS Dynamic Nuclear Polarization NMR of membrane proteins.

A novel Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) NMR polarizing agent ToSMTSL-PTE representing a phospholipid with a biradical TOTAPOL tethered to the polar head group has been synthesized, characterized, and employed to enhance solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SSNMR) signal of a lipid-reconstituted integral membrane protein proteorhodopsin (PR). A matrix-free PR formulation for DNP improved the absolute sensitivity of NMR signal by a factor of ca. 4 compared to a conventional preparation with TOTAPOL dispersed in a glassy glycerol/water matrix.