Total scores and subscale scores of the three clinical groups wer

Total scores and subscale scores of the three clinical groups were compared through ANOVA. Results.  There was no significant difference in mean total scale score and subscale scores between functional and headgear groups (P > 0.05). Significant differences were found in

both mean total and subscale scores between the malocclusion and nonmalocclusion groups (P < 0.001) except oral symptoms subscale (P > 0.05). Conclusions.  The results of this GSK-J4 study reveal that functional and headgear appliances do not differ in terms of impact on daily life during the treatment. Moreover, both groups have poorer OHQoL compared to malocclusion group. “
“Traumatic dental injury (TDI) has been considered a significant problem in youth, not only because ICG-001 purchase of its consequences to the craniofacial structures but also for its potential impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of TDI with treatment needs on the oral health–related quality of life (OHRQoL) of South Brazilian schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was performed in Porto Alegre, Brazil, using a multistage probability sampling strategy. Of 1837 eligible 12-year-old schoolchildren attending public and private schools,

1528 were examined. OHRQoL was assessed by the Brazilian version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire for 11-to 14-year-old children (CPQ11–14) – 16-item short form. Clinical examination was conducted to assess the presence of TDI in permanent incisors (Children’s Dental Health Survey criteria), malocclusion, and dental caries. Parents/legal guardians answered questions on socioeconomic status. Statistical analyses were performed using Poisson regression models. The overall CPQ11–14 score was not associated with TDI. In the functional limitations domain, individuals presenting TDIs with treatment needs experienced significantly higher mean

CPQ11–14 than individuals with no TDI or without treatment needs (RR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.05–1.39), after adjusting for malocclusion, Palmatine dental caries, gender, and socioeconomic status. No other domains were associated with TDI. This study revealed that TDI with treatment needs negatively affects the OHRQoL in this population of 12-year-old schoolchildren and that this impact is related to oral functions. “
“Toothbrushes harbor a high number of cariogenic microorganisms. To investigate the viability of mutans streptococci (MS) on toothbrushes bristles and the production of extracellular polysaccharide (ECP) related to drying time. Twenty children were submitted to brushing without dentifrice. Toothbrushes were kept at room temperature from 0 to 48 h and then submitted to microbiological processing. The number of MS colonies/biofilms was expressed according to scores: 0 = no colonies were detected; 1 = 1 to 50; 2 = 51 to 100; 3 = over 100.

Only 47% of our travelers were VFRs compared with 27% of travele

Only 4.7% of our travelers were VFRs compared with 27% of travelers Dasatinib cost overall reported in the United Nations World Tourism Organization data.[1] VFR travelers generally have contact with local populations, a longer duration of travel, use local health facilities, and have greater risks of infections.[13] In addition, we may have underestimated the number of infections given the incubation period of both HBV and HCV can be prolonged. We were unable to perform HCV PCR testing on the entire cohort of travelers

and thus some infections in the “window period of testing” may have been missed. This study nevertheless confirms that travelers to endemic countries are at risk of both HCV and HBV infection. Access to travel advice, HBV vaccination where applicable, and education regarding the modes of HBV and HCV transmission are necessary for travelers to endemic countries. We acknowledge S. Bowden, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051, Australia for performing the HCV PCRs. This click here work was supported by an unrestricted research grant by GlaxoSmithKline. D. F. J., I. R., E.

M., L. E. S., D. C., and M. L. G. have no conflict of interest. K. L. and J. T. have received grant funding from GSK for an unrelated project and travel expenses to attend international travel conferences. “
“Background. To address the lack of understanding in malaria prevention among Chinese international travelers, we have conducted knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) study in five different Chinese geographic areas. This survey represents one part of the background information needed to analyze imported malaria. Methods. Standardized questionnaires were distributed to Chinese international Mirabegron travelers in departure lounges at international

airports in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, and Nanjing. The data were entered into the Epidata 3.1 (Jens M. Lauritsen, Odense, Denmark) and analyzed by the SPSS 12.0 statistical package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results. Overall 2,495 completed questionnaires were collected from departing Chinese passengers; 1,573 were contributed by travelers who were going to malaria risk countries. More than half of all travelers spent less than 7 days to organize their trip abroad. Pre-travel medical advice was sought by 998 travelers (40.0%), 65.1% of them did so for 1–7 days before departure. Only 4.0% travelers received their knowledge from travel health providers. Among 389 travelers who were going to high malaria risk countries, only 18.0% realized that there is a high malaria risk in sub-Saharan Africa. Most travelers going to risk areas knew about personal protection measures against mosquito bites, but only 21.4% and 12.1% carried mosquito repellents or insecticides, respectively. Only 18.7% of the 1,573 potentially exposed travelers carried malaria tablets, all of them for self-treatment, none for prophylaxis. Conclusion.

High levels

of EBV DNA in PBMCs collected a median of 10

High levels

of EBV DNA in PBMCs collected a median of 10 months before diagnosis were associated with an increased risk of developing systemic B lymphoma (adjusted odds ratio 2.47; 95% confidence interval 1.15; 5.32 for each 1 log copies/106 PBMC increase in EBV load) but Selleckchem Inhibitor Library not with primary brain lymphoma. In this study, HIV-infected patients with undetectable EBV DNA in PBMCs did not develop ARL in the following 3 years, while high levels of EBV DNA in PBMCs predicted subsequent progression to systemic B lymphoma. Clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of developing systemic B lymphoma in HIV-infected patients with a high blood EBV DNA load. Before the combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) era, the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was increased by more than 100-fold among HIV-infected individuals compared with the general population [1]. Most AIDS-related lymphomas (ARLs) are diffuse large

B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) and Burkitt lymphomas [2]. ARLs have the capacity to involve extranodal sites, the most frequent extranodal localization being primary brain lymphomas (PBLs). Although a dramatic fall in the incidence of ARL has been reported since the introduction of cART [3, 4], ARLs remain the main cause of AIDS-related deaths in adults infected SP600125 with HIV [5] and the main cause of AIDS-related malignancies [6] in the cART era. The incidence of ARL is highest among patients with a CD4 count < 50 cells/μL [3]. However, in a recent study in the cART era, while the latest CD4 cell count remained the best predictor for the occurrence of lymphoma, nearly half of individuals with ARL had a most recent CD4 cell count > 200 cells/μL and 22% had a CD4 cell count > 350 cells/μL [7]. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with ARL in 40 to 90% of all cases [8]. Assessment of EBV DNA load in blood has proved of clinical value for monitoring treatment efficacy

in EBV-related ARL as well as in post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) [9, 10]. Prospective monitoring of EBV DNA load by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is recommended after high-risk allo stem cell transplantation [11] and a high value or a rising value is indicative of a high risk of PTLD and should selleck chemical lead to pre-emptive therapy with anti-CD20 [9, 12, 13]. Whether EBV DNA load in blood is a valuable tool with which to predict progression to lymphoma in HIV-infected persons is a key question but is difficult to investigate. Qualitative EBV DNA detection in the blood of HIV-infected subjects had a poor predictive value for ARL, as 80% of patients had detectable EBV DNA in blood PBMCs [14] and 65% had detectable EBV DNA in whole blood [15]. Only one study investigated the value of quantitative blood EBV DNA load but failed to demonstrate an association between high EBV DNA loads in blood and progression to lymphoma [16]; however, the sample size was limited in that study.

Plasmids pGA39, pGA44, and pGA36 were electroporated into E coli

Plasmids pGA39, pGA44, and pGA36 were electroporated into E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells and recombinant protein expression was induced with 1 mM IPTG following the manufacturer’s instructions (Invitrogen). Induced E. coli BL21 cells were then pelleted by centrifugation at 6000 g for 20 min and disrupted in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris, 200 mM NaCl) using sonication. Inclusion bodies were pelleted at 27 000 g for 15 min and then

solubilized using a modification to the previously described method (Burgess, 1996). Briefly, inclusion body pellets were washed in lysis buffer containing find more 10% v/v sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (sarkosyl). The repelleted inclusion bodies were then solubilized using 0.3% sarkosyl in Tris buffer (50 mM Tris, 300 mM NaCl) and allowed to incubate at room temperature with agitation. Insoluble particulates were removed by centrifugation at 20 400 g for 15 min. The solubilized His-tagged proteins were purified using nickel chelation chromatography according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rockford,

IL). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels and MS analysis (Oklahoma State University Recombinant DNA/Protein Core Facility) were Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor used to confirm that the purified recombinant protein fractions contained the target protein. The quantities of purified recombinant proteins were determined using a BCA™ protein assay kit according to the manufacturer’s specifications (Pierce, Rockford, IL). Purified recombinant proteins were stored at −80 °C. The production of polyclonal antibodies against recombinant IcmT, IcmV, and DotH protein was

performed in accordance with the Oklahoma State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines. Briefly, New Zealand White rabbits were inoculated with 1 mg mL−1 of recombinant protein in Freund’s complete adjuvant (Sigma-Aldrich). Subsequent inoculations used Freund’s incomplete adjuvant. click here IgG antibodies were preferentially enriched from serum using a Pierce Protein-A cross-linked agarose bead kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Pierce). Each antibody was then dialyzed against phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and concentrated using iCON™ spin concentrators (Pierce). The antibodies were then absorbed against E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells previously fixed in PBS, 4% v/v paraformaldehyde, and 0.05% v/v Tween-20. IFA and immunoblotting were used to confirm antibody titer and protein specificity (data not shown). Vero cells infected with C. burnetii NMII as described previously were seeded (105 cells) on 12-mm glass coverslips in 24-well tissue culture plates and allowed to adhere overnight. Adherent cells were then fixed in PBS, 4% v/v paraformaldehyde, 0.05% v/v Tween-20 for 15 min at room temperature. IFA analyses were performed by dual staining using guinea-pig antibody against formalin-killed C. burnetii NMII and rabbit antibodies against either C. burnetii IcmT, IcmV, or DotH.

With such an acceptable and efficacious strategy, the challenge t

With such an acceptable and efficacious strategy, the challenge then became how best to maintain and sustain the testing services, beyond the confines of a pilot study.

During qualitative work with staff, it became apparent that there were barriers to sustained testing in a number of domains: training needs for nonspecialist staff in the provision of routine HIV testing; resource implications – pressures of time, departmental stressors and targets; and the burden of results management. Conversely, there was broad support from staff for routine testing as an effective strategy to identify HIV infections, and as a method by which HIV testing could be normalized and destigmatized [7]. This short report details our experiences Bcl-2 inhibitor of maintaining a sustainable, routine HIV testing programme in one of the original study settings: the ED. We aimed to develop and deliver a sustainable model of HIV testing in the this website ED of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, situated in an area with a local diagnosed HIV prevalence of 0.83% (2009) [8]. We aimed to produce

a model of testing that replicated the success of the HINTS study model, but with provision of testing by ED staff themselves. We wished to employ sustainability methodology to refine the service in an iterative fashion in response to key outcome measures. A period of consultation between key stakeholders (ED staff and local sexual health staff) defined the model of delivery. All attending patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were to be offered an HIV test by ED staff, the inclusion criteria being (i) not known to be HIV-positive, (ii) accessing the health care setting for the first time after the initiation of testing, (iii) aged 16–65 years, and (iv) able to consent to a test. Initially, ED doctors only offered the tests, but this was later extended to involve ED nursing staff (see ‘Results’). Latterly, the upper age limit was also removed in response to patient and stakeholder feedback. A leaflet was provided and verbal Niclosamide consent was obtained prior to HIV testing. Delivery of HIV testing was in line with published national guidelines

[3], and thus verbal consent only to an HIV test was deemed sufficient, and in line with good clinical practice in the UK. The leaflet was available in multiple languages. All staff delivering testing received focussed and didactic competency-based training from sexual health staff. Results governance and delivery were managed by the local sexual health service. Patients with a reactive HIV test were recalled to undergo confirmatory HIV testing. A helpline number was provided and patients could access their results by telephone or e-mail, and sexual health counsellors were available to all patients upon request. Initially, oral fluid-based HIV testing was used, and was performed using a fourth-generation assay on a modified platform to detect HIV-1 antibodies. The technique and its validation are described elsewhere in this supplement.

Three types of efficient potassium uptake

systems, differ

Three types of efficient potassium uptake

systems, differing in their transport Pexidartinib clinical trial mechanism and primary protein structure, have been identified so far in nonconventional and pathogenic yeast species. The high relevance of the potassium uptake process is highlighted by the fact that, with a single exception (Zygosaccharomyces rouxii), all yeasts whose genomes have been sequenced are probably endowed with more than one potassium uptake system. The TRK (Transport of K+) family of transporters seems to be the most widely distributed in yeasts, although in only three species is their presence not accompanied by the existence of another system with a different mechanism (Table 1). Recently, the Trk family of transporters in nonanimal cells has been reviewed (Corratgé-Faillie et al., 2010). In S. cerevisiae, transport depends mainly on TRK1, the role of the Trk2 protein in potassium

supply is marginal and its transport activity is undetectable in the presence of TRK1 (Arino et al., 2010). In S. pombe, two Trk proteins have also been found and characterized (Soldatenkov et al., 1995; Calero et al., 2000). Sptrk1+ and Sptrk2+ are, in contrast to S. cerevisiae, equally important for the cell when growing under standard conditions and the presence of any of them is enough to enable growth at very low potassium concentrations. Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells lacking both trk genes can still grow at a similar rate to the wild type when the external concentration NVP-BEZ235 purchase of K+ is above 20 mM, and they are able to transport Rb+ (K+ analogue) with a low affinity. Therefore, the existence of a third, less efficient, K+ transporter cannot be ruled out. However, it is also possible that the K+ influx in the mutant is due to an ectopic process similar to the one described for S. cerevisiae (Madrid et al., 1998). Kluyveromyces lactis is endowed with a TRK homologous gene whose product

works as a low-affinity K+ transporter (Miranda et al., 2002). Trk transporters have been studied in two Debaryomyces species (Debaryomyces occidentalis, former Schwanniomyces occidentalis, and Debaryomyces hansenii), and DoTrk1 was found to be involved PAK6 in the potassium uptake and in the control of the membrane potential (Banuelos et al., 2000). Debaryomyces hansenii TRK1 was expressed in an S. cerevisiae mutant lacking its endogenous potassium transporters. This expression resulted in partial recovery of growth and ability to retain K+ at low concentrations (Prista et al., 2007). Recently, DhTrk1 has been proposed to work as a uniporter under nonlimiting K+ conditions (Martínez et al., 2011). The Candida albicans Trk1 transporter has been functionally compared with the Trk systems of S. cerevisiae.

For the purpose of predicting candidate sRNAs, both strands of th

For the purpose of predicting candidate sRNAs, both strands of the 1396 intergenic regions (IGs) at least 50 nucleotides in length in the N. europaea genome (Chain et al., 2003) were analyzed using a computational approach that integrates primary sequence information and comparative genomics analysis (Tjaden, 2008a, b). In summary, candidate ρ-independent transcription terminators in the N. europaea genome were predicted using the program transtermhp (Kingsford et selleck kinase inhibitor al., 2007). For the comparative genomics analysis, evidence of base-pair substitutions that conserve the sRNA secondary structure was identified by comparing both strands

of each of the 1396 IGs of the N. europaea genome with the following betaproteobacterial genomes: Acidovorax JS42, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243, Herminiimonas arsenicoxydans, Methylobacillus flagellatus KT, Neisseria meningitidis MC58, Nitrosomonas eutropha C91, Nitrosospira multiformis ATCC 25196, Polaromonas JS666, and Ralstonia solanacearum. For the 15 IGs predicted to contain likely sRNAs, alignments and covarying residues evincing the conserved

selleck RNA secondary structure (Supporting Information, Fig. S1). The 15 predicted sRNA sequences were then searched against the Rfam model library (Griffiths-Jones et al., 2005). Following the Rfam search methodology, each sequence was scanned against the library of Rfam sequences using wu-blast with an E-value threshold of 1.0. Any matches were then scanned against the corresponding covariance model using the Rfam threshold for that family of sequences. Data from 42 N. europaea Affymetrix Selleckchem Baf-A1 microarrays were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (Edgar et al., 2002). The experimental data for these microarrays were derived from cells exposed to chloroform, chloromethane (Gvakharia et al., 2007),

zinc, cadmium, cyanide (Park & Ely, 2008, 2009), benzene, or toluene (Radniecki et al., 2008), and from all the corresponding controls. Tiled oligonucleotide probes on the arrays assayed each of the 2461 protein-coding genes as well as one strand of 1042 IGs of the N. europaea genome. Data from all microarray experiments were normalized so that the median intensities are the same across all arrays. GeneRacer® Core Kit from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA) was used to confirm the expression and the full length of the transcripts of the two selected psRNAs (psRNA5 and psRNA11). RNA extracted from chloromethane-treated cells was used to map the transcripts’ 5′- and 3′-ends. The cDNA was generated by reverse transcription of the RNA with SuperScript Reverse Transcriptase (Invitrogen). To distinguish the primary transcript 5′-ends from internal 5′-processing sites, we analyzed the RNAs with 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), with and without treatment with tobacco acid pyrophosphatase (TAP).

(2002) In this method, the plasmid pCE37 was integrated into the

(2002). In this method, the plasmid pCE37 was integrated into the FRT target sequence immediately downstream of the deleted sbmA gene by the FLP-mediated recombination. The fusion was then transduced into the MC4100 tolC strain. The acrB mutation was generated using the same methodology. In this case, the PFWacrB and PRVacrB primers (Table S2) were used to obtain the PCR product for gene deletion. The ΔsbmA∷lacZY fusion, constructed previously, was then transduced into the MC4100 acrB strain. The degP∷lacZY transcriptional fusion was first constructed in the JW0157 strain using λ Red and FLP-mediated site-specific recombination, which

was described previously (Ellermeier et al., 2002). Finally, the transcriptional fusion was transduced into MC4100 and MC4100 Gefitinib clinical trial tolC strains. We introduced the tolC mutation (tolC∷Tn10) into a rybB fusion strain KMT12000 (Table S1) to obtain the KMT12000 tolC strain. The rseA mutant was obtained by transduction of rseA∷aph from the strain JW2556 into MC4100 strain and the cassette was subsequently removed. The ΔsbmA∷lacZY fusion was transduced into the MC4100 rseA strain, as described previously. The strain CAG22222 contained an uncharacterized mutation that suppresses the σE essentiality (Rouviere et al., 1995). For this reason, the ΔsbmA∷lacZY fusion was transduced into this strain and all assays

with rpoE mutants were performed in this context. The β-galactosidase activities were determined following the method described by Zhou & Gottesman (1998), with a few modifications. The fusion strains this website were grown to OD600 nm=0.8 and assayed for β-galactosidase activities. Caspase inhibitor For this, 600-μL

aliquots of these cultures were permeabilized for at least 20 min with 0.1% SDS (24 μL) and chloroform (48 μL). Then, 100 μL of permeabilized cells were placed on 96-well microtiter plate, 100 μL of a 4 mg mL−1 solution of o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside in buffer Z was added and A420 nm were measured for 20 min in a SpectraMax 250 spectrophotometer. Specific activity was calculated by dividing the slope of the line over time by the corresponding OD600 nm and expressed as arbitrary units (AU). The sensitivity to microcin B17 (MccB17) was tested using a spot-on-lawn assay, as follows: doubling dilutions of a partially purified MccB17 were spotted (10 μL) onto M9 plates and dried. To test the sensitivity, stationary-phase culture aliquots (50 μL) were mixed with 3 mL of top agar (M9 containing 0.7% agar) and overlaid onto the plates. After an overnight incubation, the plates were examined for different degrees of inhibition. To compare the ability of MC4100 and MC4100 tolC to produce extracellular MccB17, they were transformed with the pMM39 plasmid carrying the microcin production and immunity genes. The transformed strains were grown on a liquid M9 medium to the stationary phase and MccB17 was partially purified as described previously (Pierrat & Maxwell, 2003).

The RMT of the ADM was determined to the nearest 1% of maximal st

The RMT of the ADM was determined to the nearest 1% of maximal stimulator output and was defined as the minimal stimulus intensity required to evoke MEPs of at least 50 μV in five of 10 consecutive trials (Rossini et al., 1994). The stimulus intensity was set to 130% of the RMT and single TMS pulses at this intensity were applied at the appropriate

times during the experimental trials. Each subject performed five blocks of 16 trials of the motor task. The four conditions (control, pre-motor, phasic, and tonic trials) were each presented Selleckchem Proteasome inhibitor four times in random order within each block of 16 trials. Thus, a total of 20 trials for each condition were collected in the experiment. The presentation order of the conditions within each block was randomised and the times that the acoustic tone was delivered also varied randomly between the 1.5 and 3.75 s time points of the trials. Thus, subjects were unaware at the beginning of each trial of when

the acoustic tone would be delivered or when TMS would be applied during the ADM or FDI contractions. All data were collected using custom-written data acquisition scripts in Signal and analysed offline with custom-written matlab programs (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA). The MEP size was determined by averaging the peak-to-peak amplitudes of the individual MEPs in each experimental condition. The CSP duration was quantified as the time elapsed between the onset of the MEP and the time at which the post-stimulus CYTH4 background EMG returned to the pre-stimulus mean Venetoclax price amplitude. These times were determined using a validated algorithm (Garvey et al., 2001) and verified by visual inspection. The average duration of the CSP was obtained for each condition and used for analysis. The average force achieved during the MVCs was denoted as the MVC force for each muscle. Finally, the background EMG activity of the ADM was determined as the average value normalised to MVC over a 100 ms time period before MEP onset. The primary dependent variables were the ADM MEP

amplitude and ADM CSP duration. The MVCs (MVCpre, MVCpost) and the ADM background EMG were secondary dependent variables that were used as experimental controls. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to test for a statistical correlation between the primary dependent variables, ADM MEP amplitude and ADM CSP duration. The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to test the assumption of normality in both primary dependent variables. If the data could be transformed into normal, a one-way repeated-measures anova (parametric test) was applied to the transformed data to examine the effect of Condition (control, pre-motor, phasic, and tonic). If no transform was effective, a Friedman’s test (non-parametric test) was used to assess the effect of Condition.

The RMT of the ADM was determined to the nearest 1% of maximal st

The RMT of the ADM was determined to the nearest 1% of maximal stimulator output and was defined as the minimal stimulus intensity required to evoke MEPs of at least 50 μV in five of 10 consecutive trials (Rossini et al., 1994). The stimulus intensity was set to 130% of the RMT and single TMS pulses at this intensity were applied at the appropriate

times during the experimental trials. Each subject performed five blocks of 16 trials of the motor task. The four conditions (control, pre-motor, phasic, and tonic trials) were each presented BIBW2992 ic50 four times in random order within each block of 16 trials. Thus, a total of 20 trials for each condition were collected in the experiment. The presentation order of the conditions within each block was randomised and the times that the acoustic tone was delivered also varied randomly between the 1.5 and 3.75 s time points of the trials. Thus, subjects were unaware at the beginning of each trial of when

the acoustic tone would be delivered or when TMS would be applied during the ADM or FDI contractions. All data were collected using custom-written data acquisition scripts in Signal and analysed offline with custom-written matlab programs (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA). The MEP size was determined by averaging the peak-to-peak amplitudes of the individual MEPs in each experimental condition. The CSP duration was quantified as the time elapsed between the onset of the MEP and the time at which the post-stimulus Ibrutinib research buy background EMG returned to the pre-stimulus mean PARP inhibitor amplitude. These times were determined using a validated algorithm (Garvey et al., 2001) and verified by visual inspection. The average duration of the CSP was obtained for each condition and used for analysis. The average force achieved during the MVCs was denoted as the MVC force for each muscle. Finally, the background EMG activity of the ADM was determined as the average value normalised to MVC over a 100 ms time period before MEP onset. The primary dependent variables were the ADM MEP

amplitude and ADM CSP duration. The MVCs (MVCpre, MVCpost) and the ADM background EMG were secondary dependent variables that were used as experimental controls. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to test for a statistical correlation between the primary dependent variables, ADM MEP amplitude and ADM CSP duration. The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to test the assumption of normality in both primary dependent variables. If the data could be transformed into normal, a one-way repeated-measures anova (parametric test) was applied to the transformed data to examine the effect of Condition (control, pre-motor, phasic, and tonic). If no transform was effective, a Friedman’s test (non-parametric test) was used to assess the effect of Condition.