Contributions to enhanced activity in rectus femoris in response to Lokomat-applied resistance

The application of resistance during the swing phase of locomotion is a viable approach to enhance activity in the rectus femoris (RF) in patients with neurological damage. Increased muscle activity is also accompanied by changes in joint angle and stride frequency, consequently influencing joint angular velocity, making it difficult to attribute neuromuscular changes in RF to resistance. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of resistance on RF activity while constraining joint trajectories. Participants walked in three resistance conditions; 0 % (no resistance), 5 and 10 % of their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Visual and auditory biofeedback was provided to help participants maintain the same knee joint angle and stride frequency as during baseline walking. Lower limb joint trajectories and RF activity were recorded. Increasing the resistance, while keeping joint trajectories constant with biofeedback, independently enhanced swing phase RF activity. Therefore, the observed effects in RF are related to resistance, independent of any changes in joint angle. Considering resistance also affects stride frequency, a second experiment was conducted to evaluate the independent effects of resistance and stride frequency on RF activity. Participants walked in four combinations of resistance at 0 and 10 %MVC and natural and slow stride frequency conditions. We observed significant increases in RF activity with increased resistance and decreased stride frequency, confirming the independent contribution of resistance on RF activity as well as the independent effect of stride frequency. Resistance and stride frequency may be key parameters in gait rehabilitation strategies where either of these may be manipulated to enhance swing phase flexor muscle activity in order to maximize rehabilitation outcomes.     

Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Criminal Justice System

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - This study describes charges, outcomes, and recidivism in both the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems (CJS) for young adults aged 17 to...     

Distance from Typical Scan Path When Viewing Complex Stimuli in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its Association with Behavior

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Eye-tracking is often used to study attention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research has identified multiple atypical...     

A Randomized Pilot Study of a Phone-Based Mindfulness and Weight Loss Program

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of integrating mindfulness training into a phone-based weight loss program to improve outcomes in those with high levels of emotional eating. Participants were 75 enrollees into an employer-sponsored weight loss program who reported high levels of overeating in response to thoughts and feelings. Seventy-five overweight and obese participants (92% female, 65% Caucasian, aged 26 to 68 years) were randomized to the new mindfulness weight loss program (n = 50) or the standard behavioral weight loss program (n = 25). Both programs consisted of 11 coaching calls with health coaches and registered dietitians with supplemental online materials. Satisfaction, engagement, and percent weight lost did not significantly differ for intervention vs. control at six months. Intervention participants had significantly better scores at six-month follow-up on mindful eating, binge eating, experiential avoidance, and one mindfulness subscale. Exploratory analyses showed that improvements on several measures predicted more weight loss in the intervention group. This pilot study found that integrating mindfulness into a brief phone-based behavioral weight loss program was feasible and acceptable to participants, but did not produce greater weight loss on average, despite hypothesized changes in mindful eating. Only one third of intervention participants reported participating in mindfulness exercises regularly. Mechanisms of change observed within the intervention group suggest that for adults with high levels of emotional eating those who embrace mindful eating and meditation may lose more weight with a mindfulness intervention.     

Criticism of the DSM-V risk syndrome: A rebuttal

Short-term memory for verbal and visuospatial information was examined in a group of children and teenagers with Down’s syndrome. Performance on the verbal task was impaired relative to matched control groups, but there were no group differences on the visuospatial task. Relatedly, the Down’s syndrome group showed inferior short-term memory for verbal as opposed to visuospatial information, whereas controls showed the opposite pattern. These findings did not appear to result from a general superiority of nonverbal abilities in the Down’s syndrome group, or from hearing difficulties that might have impacted on the verbal short-term memory task, in which material was presented auditorily. The results are consistent with the suggestion that Down’s syndrome is associated with a selective impairment of the phonological loop component of Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) working memory model.     

Focal adhesion kinase promotes phospholipase C-γ1 activity

The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase FAK ("focal adhesion kinase") is a key mediator of integrin signaling events controlling cellular responses to the extracellular matrix, including spreading, migration, proliferation, and survival. Integrin-ligand interactions stimulate FAK tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of FAK signaling functions. Here evidence is presented that the FAK autophosphorylation site Tyr-397 mediates a direct interaction with the C-terminal Src homology 2 domain of phospholipase C (PLC)-gamma1 and that this is required for both adhesion-dependent association of the two molecules and increased inositol phosphate production in mouse embryo fibroblasts. Overexpression of FAK and PLC-gamma1 in COS-7 cells increases PLC-gamma1 enzymatic activity and tyrosine phosphorylation, also dependent on FAK Tyr-397. However, FAK appears incapable of directly phosphorylating PLC-gamma1. These observations suggest a role for FAK in recruiting PLC-gamma1 to the plasma membrane at sites of cell-matrix adhesion and there promoting its enzymatic activity, possibly by releasing the repression caused by intramolecular interactions of the PLC-gamma1 Src homology domains and/or by positioning it for phosphorylation by associated Src-family kinases. These findings expand the known signaling functions of FAK and provide mechanistic insight into integrin-stimulation of PLC-gamma1.     

Changes in the site- and histology-specific incidence of gastric cancer during a 50-year period

In contrast to the dramatic decrease in the overall incidence of gastric cancer, there has been a reported increase in the incidence of cases located in the gastric cardia. The aim of this study was to identify changes in site- and histology-specific incidence rates of gastric adenocarcinoma during a 50-year period. The Rochester Epidemiology Project medical records linkage system was used to identify all cases of gastric adenocarcinoma among residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, between 1941 and 1990 (n = 342). Each patient's complete (inpatient and outpatient) medical records were reviewed and tumor location determined from pathological, surgical, endoscopic, and radiological reports. All available histological specimens (n = 246) were reviewed independently. The overall incidence of gastric cancer decreased from 48.8 per 100,000 person-years in the 1940s to 11.6 per 100,000 in the 1980s, whereas the incidence of adenocarcinoma of the cardia did not change significantly during the 50-year period. The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction increased from 0.0 to 1.9 per 100,000 person-years, but the number of cases was small. The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia has not increased in this population. The reported increase in cardia cancer in other populations may be due to an increasing incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction.