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Scientists traditionally use passive stimulation to examine the organisation of primary somatosensory cortex (SI). However, given the close, bidirectional relationship between the somatosensory and motor systems, active paradigms involving free movement may uncover alternative SI representational motifs. Here, we used 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare hallmark features of SI digit representation between active and passive tasks which were unmatched on task or stimulus properties. The spatial location of digit maps, somatotopic organisation, and inter-digit representational structure were largely consistent between tasks, indicating representational consistency. We also observed some task differences. The active task produced higher univariate activity and multivariate representational information content (inter-digit distances). The passive task showed a trend towards greater selectivity for digits versus their neighbours. Our findings highlight that, while the gross features of SI functional organisation are task invariant, it is important to also consider motor contributions to digit representation.

Background: Most studies on stroke have been designed to examine one deficit in isolation; yet, survivors often have multiple deficits in different domains. While the mechanisms underlying multiple-domain deficits remain poorly understood, network-theoretical methods may open new avenues of understanding. Methods: Fifty subacute stroke patients (7±3days poststroke) underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and a battery of clinical tests of motor and cognitive functions. We defined indices of impairment in strength, dexterity, and attention. We also computed imaging-based probabilistic tractography and whole-brain connectomes. To efficiently integrate inputs from different sources, brain networks rely on a rich-club of a few hub nodes. Lesions harm efficiency, particularly when they target the rich-club. Overlaying individual lesion masks onto the tractograms enabled us to split the connectomes into their affected and unaffected parts and associate them to impairment. Results: We computed efficiency of the unaffected connectome and found it was more strongly correlated to impairment in strength, dexterity, and attention than efficiency of the total connectome. The magnitude of the correlation between efficiency and impairment followed the order attention>dexterity ≈ strength (strength: | r |=.03, P =0.02, dexterity: | r |=.30, P =0.05, attention: | r |=.55, P Conclusions: Attentional impairment is more sensitive to disruption of coordinated networks between brain regions than motor impairment, which is sensitive to disruption of localized networks. Providing more accurate reflections of actually functioning parts of the network enables the incorporation of information about the impact of brain lesions on connectomics contributing to a better understanding of underlying stroke mechanisms.

The most basic electrical machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy is synchronous machines. Synchronous machines can be operated at high speeds and low speeds for different power plants. In terms of system planning, it is important to examine the operating characteristics of the machine at idle and variable load conditions in these cycles. It is very important that generators, which are the basic components of turbines in power plants, have high efficiency when they are designed. While synchronous generators are being designed, many parameters that are compatible with each other must be arranged in an appropriate way. The efficiency of generators can vary greatly by changing very important parameters in the design. In this study, the analysis, design and analysis of the characteristic parameters of a synchronous generator are carried out with the ANSYS-Maxwell-Rmxprt integrated design and simulation program based on Finite Element Method (FEM). In this paper, parameters such as efficiency, induced voltage, phase currents and voltages and output torque of a three-phase synchronous machine were obtained depending on the electrical angle change.

Funder: CIBERNED, Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000024, Funder: Lemaire Family Foundation, Funder: Swedish Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative, Funder: Italian Ministry of Health, Funder: Weston Brain Institute; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012479, Funder: Mady Browaaeys Fund, Funder: Miriam Marks Brain Research UK, Funder: Bluefield Project, OBJECTIVE: To investigate the optimal method of adding motor features to a clinical rating scale for frontotemporal dementia (FTD). METHODS: Eight hundred and thirty-two participants from the international multicentre Genetic FTD Initiative (GENFI) study were recruited: 522 mutation carriers (with C9orf72, GRN and MAPT mutations) and 310 mutation-negative controls. A standardised clinical questionnaire was used to assess eight motor symptoms (dysarthria, dysphagia, tremor, slowness, weakness, gait disorder, falls and functional difficulties using hands). Frequency and severity of each motor symptom was assessed, and a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify how the different motor symptoms loaded together. Finally, addition of a motor component to the CDR® plus NACC FTLD was investigated (CDR® plus NACC FTLD-M). RESULTS: 24.3% of mutation carriers had motor symptoms (31.7% C9orf72, 18.8% GRN, 19.3% MAPT) compared to 6.8% of controls. Slowness and gait disorder were the commonest in all genetic groups while tremor and falls were the least frequent. Symptom severity scores were similar to equivalent physical motor examination scores. PCA revealed that all motor symptoms loaded together so a single additional motor component was added to the CDR® plus NACC FTLD to form the CDR® plus NACC FTLD-M. Individual global scores were more severe with the CDR® plus NACC FTLD-M, and no patients with a clinically diagnosed motor disorder (ALS/FTD-ALS or parkinsonism) were classified anymore as asymptomatic (unlike the CDR® plus NACC FTLD alone). CONCLUSIONS: Motor features are present in mutation carriers at all disease stages across all three genetic groups. Inclusion of motor symptoms in a rating scale that can be used in future clinical trials will not only ensure a more accurate severity measure is recorded but that a wider spectrum of FTD phenotypes can be included in the same trial.

Background/Objective: The superior parietal lobule (SPL) plays a strategic role in somatosensory and visuomotor integration. This study aims to evaluate the clinical, neurocognitive, and behavioral characteristics of isolated SPL stroke. Methods We assessed neuropsychological and behavioral findings in 14 patients with isolated SPL stroke among 4200 patients with ischemic stroke. All patients underwent neuroimaging, clinical and neuropsychological assessment after stroke. Results: Of the 14 patients enrolled, the first complaints were tactile and visuospatial disorders at stroke onset. Except for 6 patients with only 1 cognitive impairment, the majority of patients (57%) experienced more than 1 cognitive impairment category. Functional hemispheric asymmetries have been found in different cognitive processes, such as between visuospatial and body image functions and language process. Among visuospatial abilities disorders, spatial disorientation, visuospatial neglect, and visual extinction were found in two-thirds (63%) of patients with right SPL lesion. Body schema and image disorders were observed in all patients with right-sided lesions, such as alien hand, autotopagnosia for body parts (36%), autotopagnosia for sensory sensations (36%), and fading limb (21%). Two-thirds (57%) of patients with left SPL had impairment in language abilities. Conclusion Our findings after stroke suggest that SPL plays a pivotal role in the regulation of visuospatial abilities, body schema and body image processing, and language skills through bilateral frontoparietal networks and interhemispheric parietal networks.

While previous work has identified the early predictors of language skills in infants at elevated familial risk (ER) and low familial risk (LR) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no studies to date have explored whether these predictors vary based on diagnostic outcome of ASD or no ASD. The present study used a large, multisite dataset to examine associations between a set of commonly studied predictor variables (infant gesture abilities, fine motor skills, nonverbal cognition, and maternal education level), measured at 12 months, and language skills, measured at 3 years, across three diagnostic outcome groups–infants with ASD (“ASD”), ER infants without ASD (“ER-no ASD”), and LR infants without ASD (“LR-no ASD”). Findings revealed that the predictors of language skills differed across groups, as gesture abilities were positively associated with language skills in the ER-no ASD group but negatively associated with language skills in the ASD group. Furthermore, maternal education level was positively associated with language skills in the ASD and LR-no ASD groups only. Variability in these early predictors may help explain why language skills are heterogeneous across the autism spectrum, and, with further study, may help clinicians identify those in need of additional and/or specialized intervention services that support language development. Lay Summary: The present study identified predictors of language skills in infants with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Maternal education level and 12-month gesture abilities predicted 3-year language skills in infants with ASD. Measuring these predictors early in life may help identify infants and families in need of additional and/or specialized intervention services that support language development.

The flagellar motor protein FliL is conserved across many microbes, but its exact role has been obscured by varying fliL mutant phenotypes. We reanalyzed results from fliL studies and found they utilized alleles that differed in the amount of N- and C-terminal regions that were retained. Alleles that retain the N-terminal cytoplasmic and transmembrane helix (TM) regions in the absence of the C-terminal periplasmic domain result in loss of motility, while alleles that completely lack the N-terminal region, independent of the periplasmic domain, retain motility. We then tested this prediction in Helicobacter pylori fliL and found support for the idea. This analysis suggests that FliL function may be more conserved across bacteria than previously thought, that it is not essential for motility, and that the N-terminal region has the negative ability to regulate motor function. IMPORTANCE FliL is a protein found in the flagellar motor of bacteria, but what it does was not clear. To study FliL function, scientists often remove it and see what happens. Loss of FliL was thought to have different effects depending on the microbe. We uncovered, however, that part of the confusion arose because scientists inadvertently removed different parts of the protein. Our analysis and data suggest that leaving the N-terminal regions blocks motility, while fully removing FliL allows normal motility. This finding will help scientists understand FliL because it clarifies what needs to be removed to fully eliminate the protein, and also that the N-terminal region can block motility.

Background: The neurophysiological correlates of cognitive and motor symptoms in prodromal and overt dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are still to be elucidated. Objective: To evaluate if cognitive and motor features of patients with prodromal and overt DLB are associated with the impairment of specific neurotransmitter circuits, evaluated in vivo with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Methods: Fifty-one patients with DLB (twenty-five prodromal; twenty-six with dementia) underwent neuropsychological and clinical evaluation, with twenty-five patients having at least one follow-up evaluation. All patients were assessed with TMS at baseline, with protocols assessing cholinergic circuits (short latency afferent inhibition, SAI), GABAergic circuits (short interval intracortical inhibition, SICI), and glutamatergic circuits (intracortical facilitation, ICF). Results: Compared to HC, SICI, ICF, and SAI resulted significantly impaired in both prodromal and overt DLB, with the latter showing a reduced SICI and SAI also compared to prodromal DLB. There was a significant correlation between motor deficits, evaluated with the UPDRS-III, and the impairment of GABAergic (SICI) (r = 0.729, p

This article proposes a swirling actuator that uses the electromagnetic radial force and mechanical gears to generate rotational torque. The proposed actuator generates a rotating radial force between an inner stator and a swirler. The gears on the swirler and outer rotor convert the circular motion of the swirler to low-speed rotor rotation. Thus, the proposed actuator is aimed at low-speed high-torque applications. In this study, the air-gap radial flux density and electromagnetic radial force are investigated analytically and verified through finite-element analysis. The static radial force and output torque are measured in a prototype of the actuator. The system efficiency and the gear efficiency are evaluated. A peak torque density of 27 Nm/L with a small volume of 0.16 L is realized in the prototype.

En la actualidad la demanda de energía aumenta de forma progresiva debido al crecimiento económico a nivel global, dando como resultado un incremento en el consumo de recursos fósiles. Lo anterior, produce un aumento en los precios de los combustibles y preocupación ambiental. A lo largo de los años, los investigadores han propuesto diversos tipos de tecnologías para el aprovechamiento del calor residual de los gases de escape en los motores de combustión interna con el objetivo de mejorar la eficiencia de los procesos de combustión. Este tipo de estrategias son alternativas con un alto potencial para mejorar la eficiencia de los motores y reducir las emisiones contaminantes. Entre las principales tecnologías investigadas se encuentran: los turbocompresores, los ciclos orgánicos de Rankine, recirculación de gases de escape y generadores termoeléctricos. Cada una de estas tecnologías presenten ventajas y desventajas particulares que afectan su beneficio económico, ambiental y técnico. La intrusión de este tipo de tecnologías, generalmente produce una contrapresión en el sistema de escape, lo cual ocasiona una reducción en la potencia mecánica del motor. Entre las tecnologías existentes, se destaca los generadores termoeléctricos debido a sus diversas ventajas y capacidad de minimizar la contrapresión en el sistema de gases de escape mediante rediseños de los generadores.

Scooping review could help to improve knowledge about commonly used early childhood measurement tools to inform research and clinical practice and increase consistent measurement across studies.

This data includes 26 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients (HY stages I-II). It contains cognitive functions assessments, motor assessments and EEG at different time points for subjects taking a placebo or NeuroEPO drug.

Data and statistical analysis code for manuscript "Mind the Hands: Grip Force Tracks Cognitive Processes"

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s). The fundamental cognitive problem for active organisms is to decide what to do next in a changing environment. In this article, we analyze motor and action control in computational models that utilize reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms. In reinforcement learning, action control is governed by an action selection policy that maximizes the expected future reward in light of a predictive world model. In this paper we argue that RL provides a way to explicate the so-called action-oriented views of cognitive systems in representational terms.

Objective Communication-through-coherence proposes that the phase synchronization (PS) of neural oscillations between cortical areas supports neural communication. In this study, we exploited transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-evoked potentials (TEPs) to test this hypothesis at the macroscale level, i.e., whether PS between cortical areas supports interarea communication. TEPs are electroencephalographic (EEG) responses time-locked to TMS pulses reflecting interarea communication, as they are generated by the transmission of neural activity from the stimulated area to connected regions. If interarea PS is important for communication, it should be associated with the TEP amplitude in the connected areas. Methods TMS was delivered over the left primary motor cortex (M1) of fourteen healthy volunteers, and 70-channel EEG was recorded. Early TEP components were source-localized to identify their generators, i.e., distant brain regions activated by M1 through effective connections. Next, linear regressions were used to test the relationship between the TEP amplitude and the pre-stimulus PS between the M1 and the connected regions in four frequency bands (range 4–45 Hz). Results Pre-stimulus interarea PS in the alpha-band was positively associated with the amplitude of early TEP components, namely, the N15 (ipsilateral supplementary motor area), P25 (contralateral M1) and P60 (ipsilateral parietal cortex). Conclusions Alpha-band PS predicts the response amplitude of the distant brain regions effectively connected to M1. Significance Our study supports the role of EEG-PS in interarea communication, as theorized by communication-through-coherence.

Stroke is a growing disease and one of the principal death causes. 80% of the people suffering a stroke, have limitation on the hand function. This is the reason to look for the best measurement instrument to evaluate the hand function. This paper will be a review with an analysis of the psychometric properties of some measurement instruments that evaluate hand function. In this review will be include every article who have information and psychometric properties about a measurement instrument, excluding a protocol, or biography, or case reports, or comment, or editorial, or congresses, or consensus development conference, or practice guideline, or animals studies. The review will be guide by the PRISMA and COSMIN methods, and all the steps in the review will be revised by the three researchers. COSMIN guide evaluate the psychometric properties: content validity, structural validity, internal consistency, cross cultural validity, measurement invariance, measurement error, reliability, criterion validity, hypotheses testing, responsiveness. To determinate wich tool is the most apropiate to evaluate the hand motor function in stroke patients. The quality of evidence will be evaluated with the GRADE Scale.

Combined transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) is an effective way to evaluate neurophysiological processes at the level of the cortex. To further characterize the TMS-evoked potential (TEP) generated with TMS-EEG, beyond the motor cortex, we aimed to distinguish between cortical reactivity to TMS versus non-specific somatosensory and auditory co-activations using both single-pulse and paired-pulse protocols at suprathreshold stimulation intensities over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Fifteen right-handed healthy participants received six blocks of stimulation including single and paired TMS delivered as active-masked (i.e., TMS-EEG with auditory masking and foam spacing), active-unmasked (TMS-EEG without auditory masking and foam spacing) and sham (sham TMS coil). We evaluated cortical excitability following single-pulse TMS, and cortical inhibition following a paired-pulse paradigm (long-interval cortical inhibition (LICI)). Repeated measure ANOVAs revealed significant differences in mean cortical evoked activity (CEA) of active-masked, active-unmasked, and sham conditions for both the single-pulse (F(1.76, 24.63) = 21.88, p 0.001, η2 = 0.61) and LICI (F(1.68, 23.49) = 10.09, p 0.001, η2 = 0.42) protocols. Furthermore, global mean field amplitude (GMFA) differed significantly across the three conditions for both single-pulse (F(1.85, 25.89) = 24.68, p 0.001, η2 = 0.64) and LICI (F(1.8, 25.16) = 14.29, p 0.001, η2 = 0.5). Finally, only active LICI protocols but not sham stimulation ([active-masked (0.78 ± 0.16, P 0.0001)], [active-unmasked (0.83 ± 0.25, P 0.01)]) resulted in significant signal inhibition. While previous findings of a significant somatosensory and auditory contribution to the evoked EEG signal are replicated by our study, an artifact attenuated cortical reactivity can reliably be measured in the TMS-EEG signal with suprathreshold stimulation of DLPFC. Artifact attenuation can be accomplished using standard procedures, and even when masked, the level of cortical reactivity is still far above what is produced by sham stimulation. Our study illustrates that TMS-EEG of DLPFC remains a valid investigational tool.

This data includes 26 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients (HY stages I-II). It contains cognitive functions assessments, motor assessments and EEG at different time points for subjects taking a placebo or NeuroEPO drug.

Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) is a widely used practice in spine surgery for early detection and minimization of neurological injury. IONM is most commonly conducted by indirectly recording motor and somatosensory evoked potentials from either muscles or the scalp, which requires large-amplitude electrical stimulation and provides limited spatiotemporal information. IONM may inform of inadvertent events during neurosurgery after they occur, but it does not guide safe surgical procedures when the anatomy of the diseased spinal cord is distorted. To overcome these limitations and to increase our understanding of human spinal cord neurophysiology, we applied a microelectrode array with hundreds of channels to the exposed spinal cord during surgery and resolved spatiotemporal dynamics with high definition. We used this method to construct two-dimensional maps of responsive channels and define with submillimeter precision the electrophysiological midline of the spinal cord. The high sensitivity of our microelectrode array allowed us to record both epidural and subdural responses at stimulation currents that are well below those used clinically and to resolve postoperative evoked potentials when IONM could not. Together, these advances highlight the potential of our microelectrode arrays to capture previously unexplored spinal cord neural activity and its spatiotemporal dynamics at high resolution, offering better electrophysiological markers that can transform IONM.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a widespread neurophysiological measure used to study cognition, emotion and their interaction. There is a strong history and a growing body of EEG research investigating positive affect (PA). In the current article, we focus on EEG components which are increasingly informing the science of PA. We review EEG frequency evidence from alpha-band (recorded over lateral prefrontal leads) and beta-band (over the motor and pre-motor cortex) as measures of approach motivation in PA. We also review evidence of the event-related potential called the Reward Positivity, and the frequency components underlying it in the context of reward processing and learning. These EEG measures have been highly informative of PA, however, they are but a few of the potential EEG measures informing the study of PA.

The present study seeks to explore the effect of habituated ritualistic behavior on economic decision-making in three specifically modified computerized tasks. First, a harvesting task measures participant’s exploratory vs. exploitive tendencies, a second, a bomb task person’s willingness to engage in risky behaviors. Finally the Angaram task measures cognitive abilities of participant. The study will be complemented by rigorous physiological and hormonal measures that to address individual stress level responses in time.

The Motor-TCD project aims at replicating and extending our previous finding that the M1-P15 component of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-evoked potentials (TEPs) represents an index of transcallosal inhibition and its latency predicts bimanual coordination.

Postural sway data and R code for the paper named in the title

Gearturbine: Reaction Turbine, ·Rotary-Turbo, Similar System of the Aeolipile ·Heron Steam Device from 10-70 AD, ·With Retrodynamic = DextroGiro/RPM VS LevoGiro/InFlow, + ·Ying Yang Circular Power Type, ·Non Waste Parasitic Power Looses Type, ·8-X,Y Thermodynamic Cycle Way Steps.

While the contribution of social processes to pain perception is well documented, surprisingly little is known about the influence of pain on social perception. In particular, an important question is how pain modulates the processing of other people’s actions. To address this question, the current study tests, using automatic imitation, the hypothesis that pain interferes with motor simulation—that is, the processing of observed actions in the motor system. Participants in both experiments performed an automatic imitation task requiring them to abduct their index or little finger while they saw someone else performing either a congruent or incongruent action. Automatic imitation was measured in a pain-free context, a context where pain was coupled to the execution of a movement (experiment 1), and a context where pain occurred randomly (experiment 2). The results revealed that automatic imitation, indexed by slower responses on incongruent compared with congruent trials, was reduced when experiencing pain, both when pain was linked to movement execution and when it was not. Thus, the current study shows that pain leads to reduced motor processing of others’ behavior and, as such, has important implications for understanding the social difficulties associated with pain.

An experiment performed at the university of melbourne investigating the link between practice and motor learning

The cognitive load resulting from the listening activity is a key component to our quality of experience (QoE), especially in the naturalistic listening scenarios as cognitive load will directly affect comprehension, concentration span, and task performance. However, there is no agreed listening effort measurement. This study attempts to develop a new psychometric measurement via a dual-task experiment that can efficiently indicate listening effort in a multi-tasking scenario. With the quantifiable listening effort, the new metrics will complement the existing QoE evaluation approach to better gauge QoE in more naturalistic usage scenarios.

Komunitas motor merupakan wadah bagi pemilik motor yang ingin lebih mengeksplore hobi mereka. Anggota dari komunitas motor biasanya terdiri dari pemiliki motor dengan brand yang sama atau bisa juga dengan berbagai brand. Subjek penulisan ini adalah komunitas motor Jogja CBR Riders Independent (JCRI).Tujuan penulisan ini diharapkan dapat merubah pemikiran negatif dari masyarakat terhadap komunitas motor, karena komunitas motor ini melakukan kegiatan yang positif untuk membuktikan terhadap masyarakat melalui kegiatan bakti sosial. Komunitas motor ini juga memberikan bantuan untuk korban banjir dengan cara memberikan kebutuhan sandang dan pangan.. Data penelitian diperoleh dari observasi dan wawancara serta teori dari berbagai sumber. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Jogja CBR Riders Independent (JCRI) adalah sebuah komunitas motor yang memiliki keinginan merubah pemikiran negatif masyarakaat menjadi pemikiran yang positif terhadap komunitas motor.

Flattening the Curve in Respiratory Illnesses in Medically Underserved Communities

Recent studies have demonstrated that it is possible to decode and synthesize various aspects of acoustic speech directly from intracranial measurements of electrophysiological brain activity. In order to continue progressing toward the development of a practical speech neuroprosthesis for the individuals with speech impairments, better understanding and modeling of imagined speech processes are required. The present study uses intracranial brain recordings from participants that performed a speaking task with trials consisting of overt, mouthed, and imagined speech, representing various degrees of decreasing behavioral output. Speech activity detection models are constructed using spatial, spectral, and temporal brain activity features, and the features and model performances are characterized and compared across the three degrees of behavioral output. The results indicate there is a hierarchy in which the relevant channels for the lower behavioral output modes form nested subsets of the relevant channels from the higher behavioral output modes. This provides important insights for the elusive goal of developing more effective imagined speech decoding models with respect to the better-established overt speech decoding counterparts.

Spatial representation is a crucial skill for everyday interaction with the environment. Different factors seem to influence spatial perception, such as body movements and vision. However, it is still unknown if motor impairment affects the building of simple spatial perception. To investigate this point, we tested hemiplegic children with (HV) and without visual field (H) disorders in an auditory and visual-spatial localization and pitch discrimination task. Fifteen hemiplegic children (nine H and six HV) and twenty with typical development took part in the experiment. The tasks consisted in listening to a sound coming from a series of speakers positioned at the front or back of the subject. In one condition, subjects were asked to discriminate the pitch, while in the other, subjects had to localize the position of the sound. We also replicated the spatial task in a visual modality. Both groups of hemiplegic children performed worse in the auditory spatial localization task compared with the control, while no difference was found in the pitch discrimination task. For the visual-spatial localization task, only HV children differed from the two other groups. These results suggest that movement is important for the development of auditory spatial representation.

Research conducted on a remote-controlled drone aids in the quantification of individual rotor performance in the hovering state. Analysis via a three-dimensional numerical model identifies specific flow characteristics that are unique to the drone blade selected for the study. These flow characteristics give insight to lifting force, torque, velocity and pressure characteristics exerted on and induced by the blade. These metrics are made available to validate and improve actuator disk theory for a disk-size equivalent to the rotor’s planform area. Improvements to actuator disk theory occur by implementing pressure and velocity gradients extracted from the three-dimensional numerical simulation. Although computationally expensive, three-dimensional simulations provide most accurate results. Once the extracted radial pressure and velocity distributions are provided, less accurate and computationally cheaper analytical processes can be used as a substitution to this time-consuming investigation into vehicle performance. ONR, Arlington, VA, 22217 Ensign, United States Navy Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Cerebellar ataxias represent a heterogeneous group of disabling disorders characterized by motor and cognitive disturbances, for which no effective treatment is currently available. In this randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, followed by an open-label phase, we investigated whether treatment with cerebello-spinal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could improve both motor and cognitive symptoms in patients with neurodegenerative ataxia at short and long-term. Sixty-one patients were randomized in two groups for the first controlled phase. At baseline (T0), Group 1 received placebo stimulation (sham tDCS) while Group 2 received anodal cerebellar tDCS and cathodal spinal tDCS (real tDCS) for 5 days/week for 2 weeks (T1), with a 12-week (T2) follow-up (randomized, double-blind, sham controlled phase). At the 12-week follow-up (T2), all patients (Group 1 and Group 2) received a second treatment of anodal cerebellar tDCS and cathodal spinal tDCS (real tDCS) for 5 days/week for 2 weeks, with a 14-week (T3), 24-week (T4), 36-week (T5) and 52-week follow-up (T6) (open-label phase). At each time point, a clinical, neuropsychological and neurophysiological evaluation was performed. Cerebellar-motor cortex connectivity was evaluated using transcranial magnetic stimulation. We observed a significant improvement in all motor scores (scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia, international cooperative ataxia rating scale), in cognition (evaluated with the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome scale), in quality-of-life scores, in motor cortex excitability and in cerebellar inhibition after real tDCS compared to sham stimulation and compared to baseline (T0), both at short and long-term. We observed an addon-effect after two repeated treatments with real tDCS compared to a single treatment with real tDCS. The improvement at motor and cognitive scores correlated with the restoration of cerebellar inhibition evaluated with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Cerebello-spinal tDCS represents a promising therapeutic approach for both motor and cognitive symptoms in patients with neurodegenerative ataxia, a still orphan disorder of any pharmacological intervention.

BACKGROUND: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) reportedly has neurologic consequences in childhood however little is known about the impact in isolated CDH. AIMS: Herein we aimed to describe the risk of neurodevelopmental complications in children born with isolated CDH. MATERIALS & METHODS: We systematically reviewed literature for reports on the neurological outcome of infants born with isolated CDH. The primary outcome was neurodevelopmental delay. Secondary outcomes included, motor skills, intelligence, vision, hearing, language and behavior abnormalities. RESULTS: Thirteen out of 87 (15%) studies reported on isolated CDH, including 2624 out of 24,146 children. Neurodevelopmental delay was investigated in four studies and found to be present in 16% (3-34%) of children. This was mainly attributed to motor problems in 13% (2-30%), whereas cognitive dysfunction only in 5% (0-20%) and hearing in 3% (1-7%). One study assessed the effect of fetal surgery. When both isolated and non-isolated children were included, these numbers were higher. DISCUSSION: This systematic review demonstrates that only a minority of studies focused on isolated CDH, with neurodevelopmental delay present in 16% of children born with CDH. CONCLUSION: To accurately counsel patients, more research should focus on isolated CDH cases and examine children that underwent fetal surgery. ispartof: PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS vol:42 issue:3 pages:318-329 ispartof: location:England status: published

The exact somatotopy of the human facial representation in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) remains debated. One reason that progress has been hampered is due to the methodological challenge of how to apply automated vibrotactile stimuli to face areas in a manner that is: (1) reliable despite differences in the curvatures of face locations; and (2) MR-compatible and free of MR-interference artefacts when applied in the MR head-coil. Here we overcome this challenge by using soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) technology. SPAs are made of a soft silicon material and can be in- or deflated by means of airflow, have a small diameter, and are flexible in structure, enabling good skin contact even on curved body surfaces (as on the face). To validate our approach, we first mapped the well-characterised S1 finger layout using this novel device and confirmed that tactile stimulation of the fingers elicited characteristic somatotopic finger activations in S1. We then used the device to automatically and systematically deliver somatosensory stimulation to different face locations. We found that the forehead representation was least distant from the representation of the hand. Within the face representation, we found that the lip representation is most distant from the forehead representation, with the chin represented in between. Together, our results demonstrate that this novel MR compatible device produces robust and clear somatotopic representational patterns using vibrotactile stimulation through SPA-technology., NeuroImage, 269, ISSN:1053-8119, ISSN:1095-9572

The motor is the primary impetus source of most mechanical equipment, and its failure will cause substantial economic losses and safety problems. Therefore, it is necessary to study online fault diagnosis techniques for motors, given the problems caused by shallow learning models or single-sensor fault analysis in previous motor fault diagnosis techniques, such as blurred fault features, inaccurate identification, and time and manpower consumption. In this paper, we proposed a model for motor fault diagnosis based on deep learning and multi-sensor information fusion. Firstly, a correlation adaptive weighting method is proposed in this paper, and it is used to integrate the collected multi-source homogeneous sensor information into multi-source heterogeneous sensor information through the data layer fusion. Secondly, the 1D-CNN is used to carry out feature extraction, feature layer fusion, and fault classification of multi-source heterogeneous information of the motor. Finally, the data of seven states (one healthy and six faulty) of the motor are collected by the motor drive test bench to realize the model’s training, testing, and verification. The experimental results show that the fault diagnosis accuracy of the model is 99.3%. Thus, this method has important practical implications for improving the accuracy of motor fault diagnosis further.

Objectives: Generally, neuropathies of peripheral nerves are a frequent condition (prevalence 2–3%) and most frequently due to alcoholism, diabetes, renal insufficiency, malignancy, toxins, or drugs. However, the vast majority of neuropathies has orphan status. This review focuses on the etiology, frequency, diagnosis, and treatment of orphan neuropathies. Methods: Literature review Results: Rareness of diseases is not uniformly defined but in the US an orphan disease is diagnosed if the prevalence is

No studies have investigated voluntary movement abnormalities and their neurophysiological correlates in patients with parkinsonism due to inherited primary monoamine neurotransmitter (NT) disorders. Nine NT disorders patients and 16 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Objective measurements of repetitive finger tapping were obtained using a motion analysis system. Primary motor cortex (M1) excitability was assessed by recording the input/output (I/O) curve of motor-evoked potentials (MEP) and using a conditioning test paradigm for short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) assessment. M1 plasticity-like mechanisms were indexed according to MEPs amplitude changes after the paired associative stimulation protocol. Patient values were considered abnormal if they were greater or lower than two standard deviations from the average HCs value. Patients with aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, tyrosine hydroxylase, and 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase defects showed markedly reduced velocity (5/5 patients), reduced movement amplitude, and irregular rhythm (4/5 patients). Conversely, only 1 out of 3 patients with autosomal-dominant GTPCH deficiency showed abnormal movement parameters. Interestingly, none of the patients had a progressive reduction in movement amplitude or velocity during the tapping sequence (no sequence effect). Reduced SICI was the most prominent neurophysiological abnormality in patients (5/9 patients). Finally, the I/O curve slope correlated with movement velocity and rhythm in patients. We provided an objective assessment of finger tapping abnormalities in monoamine NT disorders. We also demonstrated M1 excitability changes possibly related to alterations in motor execution. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of juvenile parkinsonism due to dopamine deficiency.

Fil: Mylius, Veit. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Mylius, Veit. Universidad Philipps. Departamento de Neurología; Alemania Fil: Mylius, Veit. Kantonsspital St. Gallen. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Maes, Laura. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Negele, Katrin. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Schmid, Christine. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Sylvester, Ramona. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Brook, Caroline Sharon. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Brugger, Florian. Kantonsspital St. Gallen. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Pérez Lloret, Santiago. Universidad Abierta Interamericana. Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud. Centro de Altos Estudios de Ciencias Humanas y de la Salud; Argentina Fil: Pérez Lloret, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Pérez Lloret, Santiago. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina Fil: Pérez Lloret, Santiago. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Fisiología; Argentina Fil: Bansi, Jens. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Bansi, Jens. Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas de Suiza Oriental. Departamento de Salud, Fisioterapia; Suiza Fil: Aminian, Kamiar. Escuela Politécnica Federal de Lausana. Laboratorio de Análisis y Medición del Movimiento; Suiza Fil: Paraschiv Ionescu, Anisoara. Escuela Politécnica Federal de Lausana. Laboratorio de Análisis y Medición del Movimiento; Suiza Fil: Gonzenbach, Roman. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Brugger, Peter. Centro de Neurorehabilitación. Departamento de Neurología; Suiza Fil: Brugger, Peter. Universidad de Zúrich. Departamento de Psiquiatría; Suiza Abstract: Various factors, such as fear of falling, postural instability, and altered executive function, contribute to the high risk of falling in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Dual-task training is an established method to reduce this risk. Motor-perceptual task combinations typically require a patient to walk while simultaneously engaging in a perceptual task. Motor-executive dual-tasking (DT) combines locomotion with executive function tasks. One augmented reality treadmill training (AR-TT) study revealed promising results of a perceptual dual-task training with a markedly reduced frequency of falls especially in patients with PD. We here propose to compare the effects of two types of concurrent tasks, perceptual and executive, on high-intensity TT). Patients will be trained with TT alone, in combination with an augmented reality perceptual DT (AR-TT) or with an executive DT (Random Number Generation; RNG-TT). The results are expected to inform research on therapeutic strategies for the training of balance in PD.

Objective There has been a lack of data regarding the usefulness and clinical characteristic between patients-treated with and without antidepressants (Pw/Pwo ADs). Methods One hundred and eighty inpatients were recruited and observed for a 6-month. The depressive, cognitive, daily activity, and motor symptoms were evaluated at baseline and tracked at month 6, with the use of rating scales including Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), modified Rankin Scale (MRS), modified Barthel Index (MBI), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Results Among 178 patients, 84 (47.2%) were treated with ADs. PwAD had numerically or significantly higher depressive cognitive, and motor symptoms along with daily activity impairment (8.3 point higher in BDI score, p < 0.001; 3.6 point lower in MMSE, p = 0.003; 0.8 point higher in GDS score, p = nonsignificant; 8.2 point lower in BBS score, p = 0.053, and 0.4 point higher in MBI score, p = nonsignificant) than PwoAD. Psychiatric consultation was also significantly higher in PwAD than in PwoAD (p < 0.001). The numbers need to treat for good clinical outcomes between PwAD and PwoAD were 5.8, 6.0, and 7.5, respectively, by MRS, MBI, and BBS scores. Conclusion Our findings suggest the potential utility of AD treatment and different clinical parameters between patients- treated with and without ADs. Adequately-powered and well-controlled further studies are mandatory to confirm and fully elaborate such association.

In recent years, DNA nanotechnology expanded its scope from structural DNA nanoarchitecture towards designing dynamic and functional nanodevices. This progress has been evident in the development of an advanced class of DNA nanomachines, the so-called DNA walkers. They represent an evolution of basic switching between distinctly defined states into continuous motion. Inspired by the naturally occurring walkers such as kinesin, research on DNA walkers has focused on developing new ways of powering them and investigating their walking mechanisms and advantages. New techniques allowing the visualization of walkers as single molecules and in real time have provided a deeper insight into their behavior and performance. The construction of novel DNA walkers bears great potential for applications in therapeutics, nanorobotics or computation. This review will cover the various examples and breakthrough designs of recently reported DNA walkers that pushed the limits of their performance. It will also mention the techniques that have been used to investigate walker nanosystems, as well as discuss the applications that have been explored so far.

Background. Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) have bradykinesia during mobility tasks in the morning before intake of dopaminergic treatment and have difficulties managing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Early morning off (EMO) refers to off-states in the morning where the severity of bradykinesia is increased and causes a decrease in mobility related to wearing off of effects of medication. Measurements from devices capable of continuously recording motor symptoms may provide insight into the patient’s response to medication and possible impact on ADLs. Objectives. To test whether poor or slow response to medication in the morning predicts the overall ADL-level and to assess the association between change in bradykinesia score (BKS) and the risk of having disabilities within three selected ADL-items. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, the sample consists of 34 patients with light to moderate PD. Data collection encompasses measurements from the Parkinson KinetiGraph, and the ADL-limitations are assessed by the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Part II. Results. The association between UPDRS- II and BKS from the algorithm was −0.082 (p<0.01), 95% CL:−0.113; −0.042). The individuals experienced disabilities in performing “Speech” (p=0.004) and “Doing hobbies” (p=0.038) when being slow or poor responders to dopaminergic therapy. The PD patients’ L-dopa equivalent dose seems to be a strong predictor of the ADL-level in the morning. Conclusion. Slow response to the medication dosages in the morning is correlated with disabilities in the overall ADL-level in PD. The combination of PD-drugs and precise, timely dosages must be considered in the improvement of the ADL-level in PD patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by overlapping motor, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. Worse performance in one domain is associated with worse performance in the other domains. Commonality analysis (CA) is a method of variance partitioning in multiple regression, used to separate the specific and common influence of collinear predictors. We apply, for the first time, CA to the functional connectome to investigate the unique and common neural connectivity underlying the interface of the symptom domains in 74 non‐demented PD subjects. Edges were modeled as a function of global motor, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric scores. CA was performed, yielding measures of the unique and common contribution of the symptom domains. Bootstrap confidence intervals were used to determine the precision of the estimates and to directly compare each commonality coefficient. The overall model identified a network with the caudate nucleus as a hub. Neuropsychiatric impairment accounted for connectivity in the caudate‐dorsal anterior cingulate and caudate‐right dorsolateral prefrontal‐right inferior parietal circuits, while caudate‐medial prefrontal connectivity reflected a unique effect of both neuropsychiatric and cognitive impairment. Caudate‐precuneus connectivity was explained by both unique and shared influence of neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms. Lastly, posterior cortical connectivity reflected an interplay of the unique and common effects of each symptom domain. We show that CA can determine the amount of variance in the connectome that is unique and shared amongst motor, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive symptoms in PD, thereby improving our ability to interpret the data while gaining novel insight into networks at the interface of these symptom domains.

Purpose Little is known about the reliability and value of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) undergoing scoliosis correction surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of IONM and the cortical excitability in these patients. Methods Fifteen patients with DMD and scoliosis and 15 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) underwent scoliosis correction surgery with the use of IONM. IONM consisted of transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potential (Tc-MEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring. The highest Tc-MEP amplitudes were collected to test the feasibility. Preoperative compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-MEPs were recorded to test the cortical excitability. SSEPs were scored as elicitable or not elicitable. Results Tc-MEP amplitudes were significantly lower in the DMD group for both the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles. However, the abductor hallucis muscle had similar amplitudes in both the DMD as the AIS group. TMS/CMAP and Tc-MEP/CMAP ratios were similar in the DMD and AIS group (P = 0.126 and P = 0.792 respectively). Conclusions Tc-MEP and SSEP monitoring is feasible, particularly when Tc-MEPs are recorded from the abductor hallucis muscle in patients with DMD. Similar TMS/CMAP and Tc-MEP/CMAP ratios show that there were no differences observed in cortical excitability between the groups. IONM seems a feasible and valuable neurophysiological tool to signal possible surgically induced damage to the spinal cord during scoliosis correction surgery in patients with DMD.

The ability to adjust behavior is an essential component of cognitive control. Much is known about frontal and striatal processes that support cognitive control, but few studies have investigated how motor signals change during reactive and proactive adjustments in motor output. To address this, we characterized neural signals in red nucleus (RN), a brain region linked to motor control, as male and female rats performed a novel variant of the stop-signal task. We found that activity in RN represented the direction of movement and was strongly correlated with movement speed. Additionally, we found that directional movement signals were amplified on STOP trials before completion of the response and that the strength of RN signals was modulated when rats exhibited cognitive control. These results provide the first evidence that neural signals in RN integrate cognitive control signals to reshape motor outcomes reactively within trials and proactivity across them. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Healthy human behavior requires the suppression or inhibition of errant or maladaptive motor responses, often called cognitive control. While much is known about how frontal brain regions facilitate cognitive control, less is known about how motor regions respond to rapid and unexpected changes in action selection. To address this, we recorded from neurons in the red nucleus, a motor region thought to be important for initiating movement in rats performing a cognitive control task. We show that red nucleus tracks motor plans and that selectivity was modulated on trials that required shifting from one motor response to another. Collectively, these findings suggest that red nucleus contributes to modulating motor behavior during cognitive control.

The small-signal model of the incremental optical encoder introduced in this paper provides an insight on the impact of this sensor in the dynamics of the motion control loop of a motor drive. The model is derived and validated for the most commonly employed speed estimation methods: the pulse count and the elapsed time methods. Using the model, the reduction of the phase margin due to the encoder phase lag can be quantified at an early design stage. This model facilitates the design of control techniques to compensate for the phase margin reduction due to the associated feedback delays.

The purpose of the study is to determine the physical condition of the pupils of pre-school educational establishments of various types for improving the quality of the educational process of physical education. Material and methods . The study involved 3-4 year-old children. The children attended preschool institutions of various types in the city of Dnipro. They were the children's educational establishment №282 of the combined type, the children's educational establishment №192 of the sanatorium type, the children's educational establishment №28 of the compensating type, children's educational establishment №244 and №404 of general development. Control (n = 90) and experimental (n = 95) groups were created in each age group of a particular type of institution. The differentiation of pupils of institutions of different types into two subgroups was caused by their differences in functional indicators and health status. At the beginning of the experiment, the homogeneity of the studied groups of children was noted (p> 0.05). Results. The model of organization of rational motor mode of 3-4 year-old children has been substantiated and developed. Organizational and methodological bases of realization of the model of rational motor mode of 3-4 year-old children in preschool educational institutions of various types have been developed. The influence of the developed model on the physical condition of pupils of pre-school educational institutions of different types has been determined. The study of the anthropometric parameters of children after the implementation of the developed model showed no differences in these parameters. These differences were observed in children of different types of kindergartens in all sex-age groups. The determination of functional abilities of children resulted in a significant improvement in spirometry, respiratory rate, heart rate, Ruffier test in experimental groups of children of both sexes (p

This study proposes and applies a comprehensive learning particle swarm optimization (CLPSO) fuzzy Petri net (FPN) algorithm, which is based on the CLPSO algorithm and FPN, to the fault diagnosis of a complex motor. First, the transition confidence is replaced by a Gaussian function to deal with the uncertainty of fault propagation. Then, according to the Petri net principle, a competition operator is introduced to improve the matrix reasoning. Finally, a CLPSO-FPN model for motor fault diagnosis is established based on the motor failure mechanism and fault characteristics. The CLPSO algorithm is used to generate the system parameters for fault diagnosis and to improve the adaptability and accuracy of fault diagnosis. This study considers the example of a three-phase asynchronous motor. The results show that the proposed algorithm can diagnose faults in this motor with satisfactory adaptability and accuracy compared with the traditional FPN algorithm. By establishing the system model, the fault propagation process of motors can be accurately and intuitively expressed, thus improving the fault treatment and equipment maintenance of motors.

In this paper, the amount of information collected by sensory and motor organs is analyzed. Humans use their senses to recognize the information around them and to perform appropriate actions. To perform these processes, information is exchanged between organs via analog electrical signals. Analog electrical signals convey information transmitted from human sensory organs to the cerebrum or commands sent from the cerebrum to the appropriate motor organs. This paper analyzes the amount of analog signal information generated inside the human body and converts this information into equivalent digital data. This process is carried out in an effort to build a human-like humanoid based on the equivalent digital data. The analog information generated in the human body is investigated based on the medical publications to date. These analyses result in the bit rate and delay requirements of nervous systems that are built with digital networks. It is shown in this paper that both artificial eyes equivalently generate approximately 14 Gigabits from a one-time look when a humanoid performs at a human-like level. In addition, it is realized that the human body is more sensitive to pressure than to temperature since the pressure sensation generates, on average, more information than the temperature sensation.