Degree Of Weakness Research Articles

Screening of cacna1a and ATP1A2 genes in hemiplegic migraine: clinical, genetic and functional studies

Hemiplegic migraine (HM) is a rare and severe subtype of autosomal dominant migraine, characterized by a complex aura including some degree of motor weakness. Mutations in three genes (CACNA1A, ATP1A2 and SCN1A) have been detected in familial and in sporadic cases. This genetically and clinically heterogeneous disorder is often accompanied by permanent ataxia, epileptic seizures, mental retardation, and chronic progressive cerebellar atrophy.

Vestibular compensation after vestibular schwannoma surgery: normalization of the subjective visual vertical and disability

Conclusions: The degree of caloric weakness before surgery influences faster or slower recovery of patients undergoing vestibular schwannoma surgery. The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) is a good index to show the recovery of patients as it relates directly to an improvement or not of the subjective visual vertical (SVV). Objective: To evaluate the process of recovery of patients as measured by the SVV and the DHI after surgical removal of vestibular schwannoma. Methods: We studied 24 consecutive patients of the University Hospital of Salamanca who underwent vestibular schwannoma surgery. We assessed age, tumour size, degree of canalicular weakness and preoperative SVV, and their relationship with DHI and SVV at discharge and also at 1, 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Results: Patients with lesser degrees of caloric weakness took longer to normalize SVV than those with a higher caloric weakness before surgery (p < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between DHI and improvements in SVV with time. The differences disappeared in 6 months where all patients, with greater or lesser degree of caloric weakness, had the same results.

Analogues of Chaitinʼs Omega in the computably enumerable sets

We show that there are computably enumerable (c.e.) sets with maximum initial segment Kolmogorov complexity amongst all c.e. sets (with respect to both the plain and the prefix-free version of Kolmogorov complexity). These c.e. sets belong to the weak truth table degree of the halting problem, but not every weak truth table complete c.e. set has maximum initial segment Kolmogorov complexity. Moreover, every c.e. set with maximum initial segment prefix-free complexity is the disjoint union of two c.e. sets with the same property; and is also the disjoint union of two c.e. sets of lesser initial segment complexity.

Prevalence of the Rotator Cuff Tear Increases With Weakness in Hemiplegic Shoulder

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between the rotator cuff tear (RCT) and the muscle strength in hemiplegic side, and the effects of paralysis on the affected shoulders in hemiplegic patients.MethodsA cross-sectional observational study performed in a university hospital was presented. The study enrolled 55 participants with hemiplegia of diverse degree of motor paresis, excluding those with bilateral lesions, history of major trauma or other co-existing musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder. The main outcome measurements were muscle strength of the affected upper extremity (based on Medical Research Council scale), RCTs of the bilateral shoulders (by ultrasonography), and presence of shoulder pain, subluxation of the glenohumeral joint, passive range of motions, and subacromial spurs.ResultsComparing each side of the shoulders, the prevalence of shoulder pain and supraspinatus muscle tear was higher (p<0.0001, p=0.007), and the range of motion was restricted (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, p<0.0001, p<0.0001) in the affected side. There was a significant trend toward higher prevalence of RCT and shoulder subluxation in the weaker shoulder (p=0.019, p<0.0001). In a multivariate analysis, Manual Muscle Test grade of less than three was an independent risk factor for RCT (p=0.025).ConclusionRCT in hemiplegia had a linear trend with muscle weakness in the affected side and the degree of weakness was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of RCT. In addition, shoulder pain, limitation of range of motions, and RCT were more frequent on the hemiplegic side of the shoulders. It is the first study to reveal a linear trend between RCT and upper extremity weakness and will provide physicians an insight to the management of RCTs in hemiplegic patients.

Organizational Learning: As an Approach for Transforming to the Learning Organization Concept in Saudi Universities

The aims of this study were to define the reality of applying the organizational learning as an approach for transforming to the learning organization concept, determine the important obstacles which appeared when applying it, and identify the suggestions which may contribute in applying it at Al-Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University from the point of views of its faculty members. A descriptive method is used (survey) and a questionnaire of (60) statements had been answered by (200) of the faculty members. The most important results of the study have revealed the practice of organizational learning process (with a weak degree) at the university, and the presence of obstacles (with a high degree) that limiting the application of the organizational learning at the university, and the acceptance of proposals (with a very high degree), which may contribute to the application of the organizational learning process, and there are statistically significant differences in favor of females in the dimension of: (enhancing the organizational learning process), and in the dimension of:(provision a collective learning environment in the university), which represent the reality of organizational learning at the university. There are also statistically significant differences in favor of human sciences specializations in proposals for the application of organizational learning. The study recommended that the academic leaders at the Ministry of Higher Education and Saudi universities must work to promote the organizational learning culture and the concept of learning organization among the faculty members and university employees, and provide an environment that facilitates the organizational learning process at the university, and the establishment of academic departments specializing in the science of Learning organizations and organizational learning at universities as well as the establishment of the organizational learning centers within the university, staffed by experts and advisors in organizational learning, and provide counseling and guidance services for all employees at the university, and also for beneficiaries from outside the university. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n2p513

Surgical versus Conservative Treatment for Lumbar Disc Herniation with Motor Weakness

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to assess outcomes during first one year for patients with severe motor weakness caused by lumbar disc herniation that underwent surgical or nonsurgical treatment.MethodsThe 46 patients with motor weakness because of lumbar disc herniation who were treated at neurosurgical department and rehabilitation in our hospital from 2006 to 2010, retrospectively. Each group had 26 surgical treatments and 20 conservative treatments. We followed up 1, 3, 6 months and 12 month and monitored a Visual Analogue rating Scale (VAS) of back and leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and degree of motor weakness. We analyzed the differences between surgical and nonsurgical groups using Mann-Whitney U test and repeat measure ANOVA in each follow-up periods.ResultsIn the recovery of motor weakness, surgical treatment uncovered a rapid functional recovery in the early periods (p=0.003) and no difference between groups at the end of follow-up period was found (p>0.05). In VAS of back and leg, the interaction between time and group was not found (p>0.05) and there was no difference between groups (p>0.05). In ODI, the interaction between time and group was not found (p>0.05) and there was no difference between groups (p>0.05).ConclusionSurgical treatment for motor weakness caused by herniated intervertebral disc resulted in a rapid recovery in the short-term period, especially 1 month. We think early and proper surgical treatment in a case of motor weakness from disc herniation could be a good way for providing a chance for rapid alleviation.

Effect of structural constraint on dynamic self-assembly behavior of PNIPAM-based nonlinear multihydrophilic block copolymers

The effects of structural constraint on the thermosensitivity and dynamic self-assembly behaviors of PNIPAM-based nonlinear multihydrophilic block copolymers (MHBCs) are investigated by a combination of calorimetric, NMR, FTIR, DLS and zeta potential measurements. Two novel miktoarm star MHBCs, (PNIPAM)2-(PVP-b-PAA)2 with PNIPAM segments constrained at one end and (PNIPAM-b-PAA)2-(PVP)2 with PNIPAM segments constrained at two ends, are mainly analyzed to make comparison. As we previously reported (Soft Matter, 2012, 8, 3980), in (PNIPAM)2-(PVP-b-PAA)2 the three polymeric segments have relatively independent phase behaviors during the formation of PNIPAM-core micelles. However, by introducing more structural constraints to PNIPAM segments, (PNIPAM-b-PAA)2-(PVP)2 exhibits a much smoother and weaker phase transition. Additional analysis by IR spectroscopy, in combination with perturbation correlation moving window (PCMW) and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS), indicates that PVP segments in (PNIPAM-b-PAA)2-(PVP)2 show phase transition-like behavior by participating in the self-association process of PNIPAM segments, and there are both unimers and small associates existing in the solution below the LCST due to the slight interaction between PVP and PNIPAM segments. Moreover, due to the presence of PVP segments in the core, the micelles formed by (PNIPAM-b-PAA)2-(PVP)2 should have a loosely organized superstructure, which may account for the weak phase transition and low degree of phase separation. Finally, we propose a mechanism of the self-assembly process of (PNIPAM-b-PAA)2-(PVP)2, which is further confirmed by DLS and zeta potential measurements.

827 – Suggestibility in persons with schizophrenia

Aim Study of suggestibility in persons with schizophrenia to ascertain whether it is advisable to use hypno-suggestive methods in the system of psychotherapeutic help to them. Method As a method of study we used Barber's Creative Imagination Scale. To subjects of the experimental group this method was applied from 2 to 5 times, during 6 months. Main results In the experimental group the subjects have been distributed in the following way: (0) lack of suggestibility - 12.68%; (1) weak degree of suggestibility - 20.56%; (2) average degree of suggestibility - 13.8%; (3) high degree of suggestibility - 24.51%; (4) very high degree of suggestibility - 28.45%. In the control group we have obtained the following percentage distribution of subjects: (0) lack of suggestibility - 6.76%; (1) weak degree of suggestibility - 17.18%; (2) average degree of suggestibility - 22.25%; (3) high degree of suggestibility - 27.89%; (4) very high degree of suggestibility - 25.92%. We also have studied changeableness of suggestibility during 6 months in the experimental group: invariable indices of suggestibility were shown by 27.95% of subjects; 37.26% of subjects had slight changeableness; suggestibility was considerably changed in 26.09% of subjects; and radical change was obtained in 8.7% of subjects. Conclusion The obtained results point to the advisability of applying hypno-suggestive methods in the system of psychotherapeutic help of individuals suffering from schizophrenia.

About the Reliability of Manual Model PV Corrections to Improve Forecasts

Abstract The National Weather Forecast Centre of Météo-France has developed a tool that corrects the state of the atmosphere within the Action de Recherche Petite Echelle Grande Echelle (ARPEGE) operational global model by adjusting the potential vorticity when the initial conditions and available observations disagree. Among observational datasets, geostationary satellite data are the primary source of information. Here, the representation of the coherent structures of the tropopause in the model is assessed with Meteosat ozone and water vapor images. Modifications to the initial conditions of the potential vorticity (PV) in areas where the model fails can be applied using a potential vorticity inversion, thus providing a new balanced distribution of the wind and temperature that will then be used as a new initial state. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the degrees of weakness of the present qualitative approach. To this end, PV modifications to the initial conditions are applied by different experts on the eve of the windstorm Klaus (24 January 2009) that hit southwestern France. The different initial PV fields and the subsequent forecasts show significant differences in terms of wind and mean sea level pressure, while sharing some common features. The human modification process is therefore partially reproducible and skillful since the forecast is improved most of the time.

Population genetics of Parascaris equorum based on DNA fingerprinting

The large roundworm of horses, Parascaris equorum is considered ubiquitous in breeding operations, and is regarded as a most important helminth pathogen of foals. Over the past decade, this parasite has been reported increasingly resistant to anthelmintic drugs worldwide. This paper reports analysis of the population genetic structure of P. equorum. Adult parasites (n=194) collected from Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Germany, Brazil and the USA were investigated by amplified restriction fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. The genetic variation was low (Hj=0.12–0.4), for the global population of worms. This was accompanied by a weak degree of population structure (Fst=0.2), low gene flow (Nm=1.0) and low mutation rate (4Nμ=0.07). Thus, the low genetic diversity is probably a result of a low mutation rate in DNA, although the gene flow (due to global movement of horses) is large enough to allow the spread of novel mutations. Surprisingly, isolates from Icelandic horses were not found to be different from other isolates, in spite of the fact that these have been isolated for thousands of years. The study indicates that the global P. equorum population is essentially homogenous, and continents do not appear to be strong barriers for the population structure of this species. Consequently, the potential spread of rare anthelmintic resistance genes may be rapid in a homogenous population.

The management of weakness caused by lumbar and lumbosacral nerve root compression

Spinal stenosis and disc herniation are the two most frequent causes of lumbosacral nerve root compression. This can result in muscle weakness and present with or without pain. The difficulty when managing patients with these conditions is knowing when surgery is better than non-operative treatment: the evidence is controversial. Younger patients with a lesser degree of weakness for a shorter period of time have been shown to respond better to surgical treatment than older patients with greater weakness for longer. However, they also constitute a group that fares better without surgery. The main indication for surgical treatment in the management of patients with lumbosacral nerve root compression should be pain rather than weakness.

Development and Application of Stereo Camera-Based Upper Extremity Workspace Evaluation in Patients with Neuromuscular Diseases

BackgroundThe concept of reachable workspace is closely tied to upper limb joint range of motion and functional capability. Currently, no practical and cost-effective methods are available in clinical and research settings to provide arm-function evaluation using an individual’s three-dimensional (3D) reachable workspace. A method to intuitively display and effectively analyze reachable workspace would not only complement traditional upper limb functional assessments, but also provide an innovative approach to quantify and monitor upper limb function.Methodology/Principal FindingsA simple stereo camera-based reachable workspace acquisition system combined with customized 3D workspace analysis algorithm was developed and compared against a sub-millimeter motion capture system. The stereo camera-based system was robust, with minimal loss of data points, and with the average hand trajectory error of about 40 mm, which resulted to ∼5% error of the total arm distance. As a proof-of-concept, a pilot study was undertaken with healthy individuals (n = 20) and a select group of patients with various neuromuscular diseases and varying degrees of shoulder girdle weakness (n = 9). The workspace envelope surface areas generated from the 3D hand trajectory captured by the stereo camera were compared. Normalization of acquired reachable workspace surface areas to the surface area of the unit hemi-sphere allowed comparison between subjects. The healthy group’s relative surface areas were 0.618±0.09 and 0.552±0.092 (right and left), while the surface areas for the individuals with neuromuscular diseases ranged from 0.03 and 0.09 (the most severely affected individual) to 0.62 and 0.50 (very mildly affected individual). Neuromuscular patients with severe arm weakness demonstrated movement largely limited to the ipsilateral lower quadrant of their reachable workspace.Conclusions/SignificanceThe findings indicate that the proposed stereo camera-based reachable workspace analysis system is capable of distinguishing individuals with varying degrees of proximal upper limb functional impairments.

A New Comprehensive Sensor Network Design Methodology for Complex Nonlinear Process Plants

This paper presents an optimal integrated instrumentation sensor network design methodology for complex nonlinear chemical process plants using a Combinatorial Particle Swarm Optimiazation (CPSO) engine. No comprehensive sensor network design approach has been addressed yet in the literature to simultaneously incorporate cost, precision and reliability requirements for nonlinear plants. The presented approach attempts to accomplish this objective via enhancement of the estimation accuracy of the aimed instrumentation sensor network subject to desired cost, reliability and redundancy constraints. An Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF)-based data reconciliation algorithm has been developed to present evaluating measures through comparisions of the estimated and real variables in terms of Modified Root Mean Squared of Error (MRMSE), while CPSO maintains the provisions of the Network Fault Tolerence (NFT) including sensor netowrk reilability (R), strong and weak redundancy degrees (i.e., SRD and WRD). The developed CPSO engine searches in a diverse variety of possible sensor networks to adopt the most fitted one based on the imposed NFT and cost design constraints. The effective capabilities of the proposed design methodology has been illustrated in a simulated nonlinear Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) as a complex process plant benchmark.

Getting a Grip on Tailored Deterrence: The World of Conflict Management

The assumption that the United States operates from a position of strength relative to its potential enemy underpins U.S. deterrence theory. This perceived strength has emboldened American administrations to take serious tactical risks, such as the positioning of aircraft carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in order to dissuade Soviet intervention in that conflict. This tacit assumption, facilitated and entrenched by overwhelming U.S.conventional military superiority in the post-Cold War era, forms the foundation both for the relatively recent developmentof tailored deterrence and for the “Flexible Deterrence Options” (FDO) that now constitute a routine aspectof the joint military planning process. This article argues that the tacit assumption of strength is too narrow and can promote the implementation of deterrent policies and actions that have the opposite effects of those intended. Deterrence, rightly understood, is a component of a conflict management strategy which implies a degree of weakness on the part of the statethat employs it. This condition must be recognized and then incorporated into policies and plans for deterrence.

Study and Analysis of Optimized Site-selection for Urban Green Space by Using Fuzzy logic

Public land-uses in many cities are not able to present desirable services to citizens because of some problems such as high population density, lack of regularity in establishment and site-selection, and lack of attention to accessibility radius and population thresholds. This problem is magnified in big cities especially for land-uses such as green spaces. In urban supplying services only increasing of services is not a reason for proper supplying services but more important is optimized distribution of these centers. In this regard, present paper based on descriptive-analytical method as well as GIS follows optimized distribution of green space in the cities according to site-selection principals of urban green space. Case study is region 7 of Ahvaz municipality which has a population of 150215 persons and 2.78 green space capita, and this amount in addition to significant difference to standards determined by environment united nations (20-25 for a person), has been not distributed optimally. Regarding this city locating warm and dry zone of the earth, it is very important to select an optimized site for green spaces .Hence, in order to select a proper and optimized site for the green spaces according to site-selection principals layers (criteria) such as vicinity to residential centers, educational centers, cultural centers, urban infrastructures and establishments, commercial centers, hygienic centers, industrial centers and wastelands and etc. have been used. Research results in fuzzy logic valued region lands based on their importance in recognizing optimized location. Afterward, these lands were compared with land-use map and it was distinguished that lands with very good, good, and medium degree were placed close to residential, cultural, and educational centers which had more governmental ownership, and lands with weak and very weak degree were placed far from compatible land-uses, and were more placed close to industrial, administrative, hygienic sportive, and commercial centers which often had private ownership, therefore, they were not suggested for creating green space.

SPECTRAL OPTICAL MONITORING OF THE NARROW-LINE SEYFERT 1 GALAXY Ark 564

We present the results of a long-term (1999--2010) spectral optical monitoring campaign of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) Ark 564, which shows a strong Fe II line emission in the optical. This AGN is a narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, a group of AGNs with specific spectral characteristics. We analyze the light curves of the permitted Ha, Hb, optical Fe II line fluxes, and the continuum flux in order to search for a time lag between them. Additionally, in order to estimate the contribution of iron lines from different multiplets, we fit the Hb and Fe II lines with a sum of Gaussian components. We found that during the monitoring period the spectral variation (F_max/F_min) of Ark 564 was between 1.5 for Ha to 1.8 for the Fe II lines. The correlation between the Fe II and Hb flux variations is of higher significance than that of Ha and Hb (whose correlation is almost absent). The permitted-line profiles are Lorentzian-like, and did not change shape during the monitoring period. We investigated, in detail, the optical Fe II emission and found different degrees of correlation between the Fe II emission arising from different spectral multiplets and the continuum flux. The relatively weak and different degrees of correlations between permitted lines and continuum fluxes indicate a rather complex source of ionization of the broad line emission region.

Genetic characterization in symptomatic female DMD carriers: lack of relationship between X-inactivation, transcriptional DMD allele balancing and phenotype

BackgroundAlthough Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, X-linked recessive myopathies, predominantly affect males, a clinically significant proportion of females manifesting symptoms have also been reported. They represent an heterogeneous group characterized by variable degrees of muscle weakness and/or cardiac involvement. Though preferential inactivation of the normal X chromosome has long been considered the principal mechanism behind disease manifestation in these females, supporting evidence is controversial.MethodsEighteen females showing a mosaic pattern of dystrophin expression on muscle biopsy were recruited and classified as symptomatic (7) or asymptomatic (11), based on the presence or absence of muscle weakness. The causative DMD gene mutations were identified in all cases, and the X-inactivation pattern was assessed in muscle DNA. Transcriptional analysis in muscles was performed in all females, and relative quantification of wild-type and mutated transcripts was also performed in 9 carriers. Dystrophin protein was quantified by immunoblotting in 2 females.ResultsThe study highlighted a lack of relationship between dystrophic phenotype and X-inactivation pattern in females; skewed X-inactivation was found in 2 out of 6 symptomatic carriers and in 5 out of 11 asymptomatic carriers. All females were characterized by biallelic transcription, but no association was found between X-inactivation pattern and allele transcriptional balancing. Either a prevalence of wild-type transcript or equal proportions of wild-type and mutated RNAs was observed in both symptomatic and asymptomatic females. Moreover, very similar levels of total and wild-type transcripts were identified in the two groups of carriers.ConclusionsThis is the first study deeply exploring the DMD transcriptional behaviour in a cohort of female carriers. Notably, no relationship between X-inactivation pattern and transcriptional behaviour of DMD gene was observed, suggesting that the two mechanisms are regulated independently. Moreover, neither the total DMD transcript level, nor the relative proportion of the wild-type transcript do correlate with the symptomatic phenotype.

Weak Instrumental Variables Models for Longitudinal Data

This article considers the estimation and testing of a within-group two-stage least squares (TSLS) estimator for instruments with varying degrees of weakness in a longitudinal (panel) data model. We show that adding the repeated cross-sectional information into a regression model can improve the estimation in weak instruments. Moreover, the consistency and limiting distribution of the TSLS estimator are established when both N and T tend to infinity. Some asymptotically pivotal tests are extended to a longitudinal data model and their asymptotic properties are examined. A Monte Carlo experiment is conducted to evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed estimators.

Muscle autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis: beyond diagnosis?

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular junction. A number of molecules, including ion channels and other proteins at the neuromuscular junction, may be targeted by autoantibodies leading to abnormal neuromuscular transmission. In approximately 85% of patients, autoantibodies, directed against the postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor can be detected in the serum and confirm the diagnosis, but in general, do not precisely predict the degree of weakness or response to therapy. Antibodies to the muscle-specific tyrosine kinase are detected in approximately 50% of generalized myasthenia gravis patients who are seronegative for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies, and levels of anti-muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibodies do appear to correlate with disease severity and treatment response. Antibodies to other muscle antigens may be found in the subsets of myasthenia gravis patients, potentially providing clinically useful diagnostic information, but their utility as relevant biomarkers (measures of disease state or response to treatment) is currently unclear.

Diversity of Head Shaking Nystagmus in Peripheral Vestibular Disease

To evaluate the characteristics of head shaking nystagmus in various peripheral vestibular diseases. Retrospective case series. Tertiary referral center. Data of 235 patients with peripheral vestibular diseases including vestibular neuritis, Ménière's disease, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, were retrospectively analyzed. All subjects presented between August 2009 and July 2010. Patients were tested for vestibular function including head shaking nystagmus and caloric information. Regarding vestibular neuritis, all tests were again performed during the 1-month follow-up. Head shaking nystagmus was classified as monophasic or biphasic and, according to the affected ear, was divided as ipsilesional or contralesional. Of the 235 patients, 87 patients revealed positive head shaking nystagmus. According to each disease, positive rates of head shaking nystagmus were as follows: 35 (100%) of 35 cases of vestibular neuritis, 11 (68.8%) of 16 cases of Ménière's disease, and 41 (22.2%) of 184 cases of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. All cases of vestibular neuritis initially presented as a monophasic, contralesional beating, head shaking nystagmus. However, 1 month after first visit, the direction of nystagmus was changed to biphasic (contralesional first then ipsilesional beating) in 25 cases (72.5%) but not in 10 cases (27.5%). There was a significant correlation between the degree of initial caloric weakness and the biphasic conversion of head shaking nystagmus (p = 0.02). In 72.5% of vestibular neuritis cases, head shaking nystagmus was converted to biphasic during the subacute period. The larger the initial canal paresis was present, the more frequent the biphasic conversion of head shaking nystagmus occurred. However, Ménière's disease and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo did not have specific patterns of head shaking nystagmus.