Classification and Approach to Movement Disorders

Movement disorders are conventionally divided into 2 major categories. Hyperkinetic movement disorders (also called dyskinesias) are excessive, often repetitive, involuntary movements that intrude into the normal flow of motor activity. This category includes chorea, dystonia, myoclonus, stereotypies, tics, and tremor. Hypokinetic movement disorders are akinesia (lack of movement), hypokinesia (reduced amplitude of movement), bradykinesia (slow movement), and rigidity. Parkinsonism is the most common hypokinetic movement disorder. In childhood, hyperkinetic disorders are common, whereas hypokinetic movement disorders are relatively uncommon.

The Occurrence of Legacy P Soils and Potential Mitigation Practices Using Activated Biochar

The long-term application of manures in watersheds with dense animal production has increased soil phosphorus (P) concentration, exceeding plant and soil assimilative capacities. The P accumulated in soils that are heavily manured and contain excess extractable soil P concentrations is known as legacy P. Runoff and leaching can transport legacy P to ground water and surface water bodies, contributing to water quality impairment and environmental pollution, such as eutrophication. This review article analyzes and discusses current and innovative management practices for soil legacy P. Specifically, we address the use of biochar as an emerging novel technology that reduces P movement and bioavailability in legacy P soils. We illustrate that properties of biochar can be affected by pyrolysis temperature and by various activating chemical compounds and by-products. Our approach consists of engineering biochars, using an activation process on poultry litter feedstock before pyrolysis to enhance the binding or precipitation of legacy P. Finally, this review article describes previous examples of biochar activation and offers new approaches to the production of biochars with enhanced P sorption capabilities.

Rethinking powers of political: The national emergency and the J. P. movement in Rahi Masoom Raza’s Katra Bi Arzoo

In this reading of Rahi Masoom Raza’s Katra Bi Arzoo (1978), the article proposes that the imposition of the National Emergency in India on 25–26 June 1975 should be perceived in the light of the politics of the preceding decades. The 1960s and early 1970s were riven by social movements such as the Naxalite movement, the women’s movement, and especially the J. P. movement. In highlighting this context, the article argues that Raza’s novel cognitively registers the making and unmaking of these sociopolitical movements to contest the dominant trajectories of Nehruvian developmentalism and its attendant processes of nation making. The fiction inscribes an alternative, performative aspect of the nation which has been marginalized by the grand rhetoric and dominant historiography of the nation state. Such an engagement will help locate the selected fiction in the interstices between ethics and politics so pertinent to the discourses on and around the social movements of 1970s. As Jessica Berman suggests: “Ethics as an attitude or activity within the sphere of community, rather than a set of common principles or a narrative domain, becomes essential to the ordering of our lives together, and to the ‘ensemble of human relations in their real, social structure’ that we might call politics” (2011: 25).

Monitoring early stages of P release from fertilizer pellets to bulk soil using non-invasive sampling techniques

<p>Phosphorus (P) is a development-limiting nutrient for crops, hence global food production relies on P fertilizer application. However, P mobility in soil depends on many abiotic and biological processes, most notably its chemical interactions with the soil particles. Optimizing the timing and amount of fertilization could lead to higher production efficiencies and also reduce P runoff and subsequent contamination of water bodies. Plants have developed strategies to improve P uptake by optimizing the root system architecture and exuding organic acids for enhancing P mining locally to the root tips. However, these adaptations are mainly a response to low P availability or to already immobilized P patches in soil, and little is known about the fate of P in the early stages of fertilization.</p><p>In this framework, we developed an experimental assay for investigating P release from the fertilizer pellets, and its movement through soil using non-invasive microdialysis sampling techniques and inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analytical techniques. Microdialysis allowed for time resolved in-situ samplings and the small size of the probes also allows for a fine spatial resolution.</p><p>Results showed a very rapid release of the P from the fertilizer pellet (triple super phosphate, TSP), producing a high concentration pulse that lasts a few hours. P concentrations then decrease over time until reaching steady low concentrations after 6-8 days and P replenishment from the pellet was not observed after the first pulse. The experiments showed that the speed of P movement in soil is greatly influenced by soil particle size distribution, and that gravity plays an important role in promoting quick P movement in the downward direction, while diffusion can account for P observed in the upward direction. Modelling was also applied to data fitting for quantifying trends and deriving an effective P diffusion coefficient in saturated soil.</p>

A Nonproprietary Movement Analysis System (MoJoXlab) Based on Wearable Inertial Measurement Units Applicable to Healthy Participants and Those With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Across a Range of Complex Tasks: Validation Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Movement analysis in a clinical setting is frequently restricted to observational methods to inform clinical decision making, which has limited accuracy. Fixed-site, optical, expensive movement analysis laboratories provide <i>gold standard</i> kinematic measurements; however, they are rarely accessed for routine clinical use. Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been demonstrated as comparable, inexpensive, and portable movement analysis toolkits. MoJoXlab has therefore been developed to work with generic wearable IMUs. However, before using MoJoXlab in clinical practice, there is a need to establish its validity in participants with and without knee conditions across a range of tasks with varying complexity. OBJECTIVE This paper aimed to present the validation of MoJoXlab software for using generic wearable IMUs for calculating hip, knee, and ankle joint angle measurements in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes for walking, squatting, and jumping in healthy participants and those with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. METHODS Movement data were collected from 27 healthy participants and 20 participants with ACL reconstruction. In each case, the participants wore seven MTw2 IMUs (Xsens Technologies) to monitor their movement in walking, jumping, and squatting tasks. The hip, knee, and ankle joint angles were calculated in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes using two different software packages: Xsens’ validated proprietary MVN Analyze and MoJoXlab. The results were validated by comparing the generated waveforms, cross-correlation (CC), and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) values. RESULTS Across all joints and activities, for data of both healthy and ACL reconstruction participants, the CC and NRMSE values for the sagittal plane are 0.99 (SD 0.01) and 0.042 (SD 0.025); 0.88 (SD 0.048) and 0.18 (SD 0.078) for the frontal plane; and 0.85 (SD 0.027) and 0.23 (SD 0.065) for the transverse plane (hip and knee joints only). On comparing the results from the two different software systems, the sagittal plane was very highly correlated, with frontal and transverse planes showing strong correlation. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that nonproprietary software such as MoJoXlab can accurately calculate joint angles for movement analysis applications comparable with proprietary software for walking, squatting, and jumping in healthy individuals and those following ACL reconstruction. MoJoXlab can be used with generic wearable IMUs that can provide clinicians accurate objective data when assessing patients’ movement, even when changes are too small to be observed visually. The availability of easy-to-setup, nonproprietary software for calibration, data collection, and joint angle calculation has the potential to increase the adoption of wearable IMU sensors in clinical practice, as well as in free living conditions, and may provide wider access to accurate, objective assessment of patients’ progress over time.

Quantifying citrate-enhanced phosphate root uptake using microdialysis

Aims Organic acid exudation by plant roots is thought to promote phosphate (P) solubilisation and bioavailability in soils with poorly available nutrients. Here we describe a new combined experimental (microdialysis) and modelling approach to quantify citrate-enhanced P desorption and its importance for root P uptake. Methods To mimic the rhizosphere, microdialysis probes were placed in soil and perfused with citrate solutions (0.1, 1.0 and 10 mM) and the amount of P recovered from soil used to quantify rhizosphere P availability. Parameters in a mathematical model describing probe P uptake, citrate exudation, P movement and citrate-enhanced desorption were fit to the experimental data. These parameters were used in a model of a root which exuded citrate and absorbed P. The importance of soil citrate-P mobilisation for root P uptake was then quantified using this model. Results A plant needs to exude citrate at a rate of 0.73 μmol cm−1 of root h−1 to see a significant increase in P absorption. Microdialysis probes with citrate in the perfusate were shown to absorb similar quantities of P to an exuding root. Conclusion A single root exuding citrate at a typical rate (4.3 × 10−5 μmol m−1 of root h−1) did not contribute significantly to P uptake. Microdialysis probes show promise for measuring rhizosphere processes when calibration experiments and mathematical modelling are used to decouple microdialysis and rhizosphere mechanisms.

Rehabilitation Exergames: Use of Motion Sensing and Machine Learning to Quantify Exercise Performance in Healthy Volunteers (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Performing physiotherapy exercises in front of a physiotherapist yields qualitative assessment notes and immediate feedback. However, practicing the exercises at home lacks feedback on how well patients are performing the prescribed tasks. The absence of proper feedback might result in patients performing the exercises incorrectly, which could worsen their condition. We present an approach to generate performance scores to enable tracking the progress by both the patient at home and the physiotherapist in the clinic. OBJECTIVE This study aims to propose the use of 2 machine learning algorithms, dynamic time warping (DTW) and hidden Markov model (HMM), to quantitatively assess the patient’s performance with respect to a reference. METHODS Movement data were recorded using a motion sensor (Kinect V2), capable of detecting 25 joints in the human skeleton model, and were compared with those of a reference. A total of 16 participants were recruited to perform 4 different exercises: shoulder abduction, hip abduction, lunge, and sit-to-stand exercises. Their performance was compared with that of a physiotherapist as a reference. RESULTS Both algorithms showed a similar trend in assessing participant performance. However, their sensitivity levels were different. Although DTW was more sensitive to small changes, HMM captured a general view of the performance, being less sensitive to the details. CONCLUSIONS The chosen algorithms demonstrated their capacity to objectively assess the performance of physical therapy. HMM may be more suitable in the early stages of a physiotherapy program to capture and report general performance, whereas DTW could be used later to focus on the details. The scores enable the patient to monitor their daily performance. They can also be reported back to the physiotherapist to track and assess patient progress, provide feedback, and adjust the exercise program if needed.

Long-term Response to Phosphorus Banding in Irrigated and Nonirrigated Pecan Production

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of banded phosphorus (P) applications at differing rates in irrigated and nonirrigated pecan (Carya illinoinensis) plots on P movement within the soil, P uptake and movement within pecan trees, and the yield and quality of nuts. On 20 Mar. 2015, P applications of 0 kg·ha−1 (0×), 19.6 kg·ha−1 (1×), 39.2 kg·ha−1 (2×), and 78.5 kg·ha−1 (4×) were administered to bands of triple superphosphate to randomly selected trees in nonirrigated and irrigated plots of a ‘Desirable’ orchard bordered by ‘Elliot’ trees. When P was applied at the 2× and 4× rates, the total soil test P decreased linearly by 35% and 54%, respectively, in nonirrigated plots and by 41% and 59%, respectively, in irrigated plots over the course of the experiment. There was no change in soil test P over time at the 0× rate for either irrigation regimen; however, at the 1× rate, soil test P decreased 44% in the irrigated plot but did not change in the nonirrigated plot. The largest linear decrease of the soil test P from the start of the experiment to the end of the experiment occurred in the top 0 to 7.6 cm. In contrast, soil test P at a depth of 15.2 to 22.9 cm decreased linearly by 23% in the nonirrigated plot, but it did not decrease over time in the irrigated plot. Increasing the P application rate increased foliar P quadratically in the nonirrigated plot, but only the 4× application rate increased foliar P compared with the 0× control. In the irrigated plot, foliar P concentrations decreased linearly from 2015 to 2017, and foliar P concentrations were not influenced by the P application rate. No differences in pecan yield or quality were observed in either irrigated or nonirrigated plots. Overall, P banding may not be the most sustainable way to increase foliar concentrations of P quickly or to maintain concentrations of the nutrient in the long term.

Landscape Effects on Individual Movement and Dispersal

Movement is a fundamental process that enables individuals to find food or mates, locate suitable habitat, and colonize new areas. The effect of environmental heterogeneity on individual movement behavior is the finest scale at which organisms respond to landscape structure, and can be used to define different species’ perceptions of landscape structure. This chapter discusses different types and scales of movement, how patch structure is expected to influence movement, and various methods for tracking and analyzing animal movement. Because animal movements are typically bounded in space, the estimation of space utilization and home-range size is also considered in this chapter. The chapter concludes with a discussion of various approaches to measuring plant dispersal, which is likewise important for evaluating how movement (via propagules) translates into the redistribution or spread of populations across the landscape.