Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability and inhibition during coordination of upper and lower limbs.

The ability to coordinate upper and lower limbs--a prerequisite for many everyday activities--is known to decline with age. Here we report 2 experiments in which transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess corticospinal excitatory and inhibitory processes in younger and older adults during cyclical hand-foot movements. In experiment 1, motor evoked potentials (MEP) and silent period (SP) durations were measured from the active right extensor carpi radialis (ECR) muscle while it executed rhythmic oscillations in conjunction with the right or left foot.

Differential mortality rates by ethnicity in 3 influenza pandemics over a century, New Zealand.

Evidence suggests that indigenous populations have suffered disproportionately from past influenza pandemics. To examine any such patterns for Māori in New Zealand, we searched the literature and performed new analyses by using additional datasets. The Māori death rate in the 1918 pandemic (4,230/100,000 population) was 7.

The effect of cerebrospinal fluid thickness on traumatic spinal cord deformation.

A spinal cord injury may lead to loss of motor and sensory function and even death. The biomechanics of the injury process have been found to be important to the neurological damage pattern, and some studies have found a protective effect of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). However, the effect of the CSF thickness on the cord deformation and, hence, the resulting injury has not been previously investigated.

The quantitative measurement of family quality of life: a review of available instruments.

Background: Family quality of life (FQOL) has emerged as an important outcome of service delivery for individuals with disabilities and their families. The purpose of this review was to explore the disparity of scale development approaches between families with children with disabilities and families from other populations and identify strengths to serve as a source of recommendations to improve the measurements of FQOL in the disability field.

Method: We conducted a keyword search of 25 databases.

Long-term rehabilitation for chronic stroke arm movements: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: We investigated the effect of long-term practice on motor improvements in chronic stroke patients.

Design: Randomized parallel group controlled study.

Setting: Motor Behavior Laboratory, University of Florida.

Getting priorities straight: risk assessment and decision-making in the improvement of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs.

The issue of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs is not a recent phenomenon and reports of suspected genetic defects associated with breeding practices date back to Charles Darwin's time. In recent years, much information on the array of inherited defects has been assimilated and the true extent of the problem has come to light. Historically, the direction of research funding in the field of canine genetic disease has been largely influenced by the potential transferability of findings to human medicine, economic benefit and importance of dogs for working purposes.

Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability during a Go/NoGo task.

Age-related slowing of reaction times (RTs) is well documented but whether the phenomenon reflects deficits in movement preparation and/or response generation processes is unclear. To gain further insight into this issue, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to investigate motor cortex (M1) excitability and short-interval intracortical inhibitory (SICI) processes during a Go/NoGo RT task in younger and older adults. Single- and paired-pulse TMS was delivered over the left M1 during preparation and response generation periods in a right-hand muscle.

Effects of action relations on the configural coding between objects.

Configural coding is known to take place between the parts of individual objects but has never been shown between separate objects. We provide novel evidence here for configural coding between separate objects through a study of the effects of action relations between objects on extinction. Patients showing visual extinction were presented with pairs of objects that were or were not co-located for action.

Long-lasting contralateral motor cortex excitability is increased by unilateral hand movement that triggers electrical stimulation of opposite homologous muscles.

Background/objective: Long-term changes in the motor cortex can be induced by practicing motor tasks with simultaneous application of peripheral nerve stimulation. This combination may augment motor rehabilitation after stroke but has been used primarily during contraction of the affected hand. The authors tested the effect of a right hand movement that electrically stimulated left hand contraction on right motor cortex excitability.

The effect of occupational exposure to manganese dust and fume on neuropsychological functioning in Australian smelter workers.

Chronic low-level occupational exposure to manganese (Mn) is reportedly associated with the development of Parkinsonian-like symptoms. In a study of 143 manganese smelter workers, inhalable Mn exposure was associated with lower performances on the Digit Symbol Coding and Stroop tests; respirable Mn exposure was associated with improved Digit Symbol Coding test performance and reduced performance on the Trail Making (Part A), Matrix Reasoning, and Stroop tests. While these relationships reached statistical significance, the magnitude of these effects was significantly smaller than the standard error of measurement of the neuropsychological tests, indicating that these differences are not of clinical significance.

A rare case of anal tumor: Anal carcinosarcoma.

Sarcomatoid carcinoma is a rare tumor with a poor prognosis, otherwise known as carcinosarcoma. Gastrointestinal origin is very rare and only a limited number of anal carcinosarcomas have been reported in the literature. The management of this rare cancer type is controversial.

An evidence-based clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical radiculopathy from degenerative disorders.

Background Context: The North American Spine Society (NASS) Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cervical Radiculopathy from Degenerative Disorders provides evidence-based recommendations on key clinical questions concerning the diagnosis and treatment of cervical radiculopathy from degenerative disorders. The guideline addresses these questions based on the highest quality clinical literature available on this subject as of May 2009. The guideline's recommendations assist the practitioner in delivering optimum efficacious treatment of and functional recovery from this common disorder.

Family quality of life: adaptation to Spanish population of several family support questionnaires.

Background: The concept of family quality of life has emerged as a decisive construct in the last decades to improve the capabilities of families and to assess the outcomes of the services and supports they get. The goal of this research is to adapt three instruments to the Spanish population: the 'Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale', the 'Beach Center Family-Professional Partnership Scale' and the 'Service Inventory'. These tools were originally designed by researchers from the Beach Center on Disability, University of Kansas, in order to obtain some input from the families of people with intellectual disability (ID) with regard to the attention they get from the early childhood intervention services.

Mortality risk factors for pandemic influenza on New Zealand troop ship, 1918.

We describe the epidemiology and risk factors for death in an outbreak of pandemic influenza on a troop ship. Mortality and descriptive data for military personnel on His Majesty's New Zealand Transport troop ship Tahiti in July 1918 were analyzed, along with archival information. Mortality risk was increased among persons 25-34 years of age.

Tularemia outbreak associated with outdoor exposure along the western side of Utah Lake, Utah, 2007.

Objectives: In 2007, a localized outbreak of tularemia occurred among visitors to a lodge on the western side of Utah Lake, Utah. We assessed risk factors for disease and attempted to identify undiagnosed clinically compatible illnesses.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study by recruiting all people who had visited the lodge on the western side of Utah Lake from June 3 to July 28, 2007.

Absence of cross-limb transfer of performance gains following ballistic motor practice in older adults.

The phenomenon of cross-limb transfer, in which unilateral strength training can result in bilateral strength gains, has recently been tested for ballistic movements. Performance gains associated with repetitive motor practice, and the associated transfer, occur within a few minutes. In this study, young and older adults were trained to perform ballistic abductions of their dominant (right) index finger as quickly as possible.

Strain reactions to perceived entitlement behavior by others as a contextual stressor: Moderating role of political skill in three samples.

Observing others entitlement behavior can create a stressful work context fraught with accompanying strain consequences. The present investigation examined the interactive effects of perceived entitlement behavior by others and political skill on job tension in three samples (N = 440, 167, and 140, respectively) designed to establish a consistent pattern of results. Specifically, perceived entitlement behavior by others was hypothesized to predict heightened levels of job tension in the absence of political skill.

The importance of fluid-structure interaction in spinal trauma models.

While recent studies have demonstrated the importance of the initial mechanical insult in the severity of spinal cord injury, there is a lack of information on the detailed cord-column interaction during such events. In vitro models have demonstrated the protective properties of the cerebrospinal fluid, but visualization of the impact is difficult. In this study a computational model was developed in order to clarify the role of the cerebrospinal fluid and provide a more detailed picture of the cord-column interaction.

Utility of a transesophageal echocardiographic simulator as a teaching tool.

Objective: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that simulator-based transesophageal echocardiographic training was a more effective method of training anesthesia residents with no prior experience in echocardiography as compared with conventional methods of training (books, articles, and web-based resources).

Study Design: A prospective randomized study.

Setting: An academic medical center (teaching hospital).

Cortical activation during temporal preparation assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Preparatory modulations relative to the timing of upcoming stimuli may involve activation or suppression mechanisms. Here, we assessed the interplay between these mechanisms with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex. Single- or paired-pulse TMS with 3- or 15-ms interstimulus intervals was delivered during the interval between the warning and the imperative stimuli (i.

Selective suppression of the incorrect response implementation in choice behavior assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Selecting the adequate alternative in choice situations may involve an inhibition process. Here we assessed response implementation during the reaction time of a between-hand choice task with single- or paired-pulse (3 or 15 ms interstimulus intervals [ISIs]) transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex. The amplitude of the single-pulse motor evoked potential (MEP) initially increased for both hands.

Unilateral contractions modulate interhemispheric inhibition most strongly and most adaptively in the homologous muscle of the contralateral limb.

We investigated how volitional contractions affect interhemispheric inhibition (IHI) from the active to the passive hemisphere. Younger and older adults isometrically contracted their dominant thumb (abductor pollicis brevis, APB) to various force targets. In ballistic contraction trials, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was administered very shortly after the onset of APB activity.

Strategies for nutritional care in acute settings.

Many reports have highlighted the challenges to nutritional care that older people can face when they are in hospital. Nurses can influence and implement effective nutritional care for hospitalised older people. People at risk of malnutrition should be identified through screening and people who require help to eat and drink should receive appropriate help.