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Abstract Background Practicing activities improves recovery after stroke, but many people in hospital do little activity. Feedback on activity using an accelerometer is a potential method to increase activity in hospital inpatients. This study’s goal is to investigate the effect of feedback, enabled by a Smart watch, on daily physical activity levels during inpatient stroke rehabilitation and the short-term effects on simple functional activities, primarily mobility. Methods/design A randomized controlled trial will be undertaken within the stroke rehabilitation wards of the Second Affiliated hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China. The study participants will be stroke survivors who meet inclusion criteria for the study, primarily: able to participate, no more than 4 months after stroke and walking independently before stroke. Participants will all receive standard local rehabilitation and will be randomly assigned either to receive regular feedback about activity levels, relative to a daily goal tailored by the smart watch over five time periods throughout a working day, or to no feedback, but still wearing the Smart watch. The intervention will last up to 3 weeks, ending sooner if discharged. The data to be collected in all participants include measures of daily activity (Smart watch measure); mobility (Rivermead Mobility Index and 10-metre walking time); independence in personal care (Barthel Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Index); overall activities (the World Health Organization (WHO) Disability Assessment Scale, 12-item version); and quality of life (the Euro-Qol 5L5D). Data will be collected by assessors blinded to allocation of the intervention at baseline, 3 weeks or at discharge (whichever is the sooner); and a reduced data set will be collected at 12 weeks by telephone interview. The primary outcome will be change in daily accelerometer activity scores. Secondary outcomes are compliance and adherence to wearing the watch, and changes in mobility, independence in personal care activities, and health-related quality of life. Discussion This project is being implemented in a large city hospital with limited resources and limited research experience. There has been a pilot feasibility study using the Smart watch, which highlighted some areas needing change and these are incorporated in this protocol. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02587585. Registered on 30 September 2015. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-IOR-15007179. Registered on 8 August 2015.

In order to reveal the degradation process and deterioration mechanism of cement-based materials, this paper analyzes the effects of carbonic acid leaching on the mechanical strength of mortars, as well as relative mass loss, microstructure, and composition of various cement pastes. The results indicate that cement pastes containing less than 20 % fly ash have higher carbonic acid leaching resistance than cement pastes without fly ash. However, after carbonic acid leaching, the compressive strength of the samples with fly ash is lower than that of the cement pastes without fly ash. The leaching resistance is good for samples cured at an early age before leaching. Carbonic acid leaching proceeds from the paste surface to the interior. The incorporation of an appropriate amount of slag powder helps to increase the density of the paste. Due to the pozzolanic activity of fly ash at late-stage leaching, a mixture of fly ash (≤ 20 %) and slag powder (≤ 20 %) effectively improves carbonic acid leaching resistance. The products of early-stage leaching were mainly CaCO₃ and small amounts of SiO₂ and Fe₂O₃. The C-S-H phase at the paste surface suffered serious damage after long periods of leaching, and the main products of leaching were SiO₂ and Fe₂O₃.

In order to reproduce the rupture history of the 2008 Mw8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, the teleseismic and strong-motion records are adopted. Based on a multiple-segment, variable-slip model, the finite fault inversion method is utilized to recover the rupture process. The results are as follows: (1) the rupture duration of the Wenchuan earthquake is about 100 s, and the released seismic moment is 1.24 × 1021 N·m, equal to the moment magnitude Mw8.0. There are 5 asperities on the fault plane, indicating that the earthquake is composed of at least 5 subevents. (2) The slip is mainly distributed on the Beichuan fault, indicating that the Beichuan fault is the main rupture fault. On the southern part of the Beichuan fault, the dislocation underside the Longmenshan area and Hongkou-Yingxiu near-surface area is dominated by thrust, and the maximum slip is 11.8 m. Slip between the Yuejiashan and Qingping area is dominated by thrust. On the northern part of the Beichuan fault, the area under Beichuan is dominated by thrust, the slip under Nanba is thrust and strike, near Qingchuan, the slip turns into the strike slip, and the maximum slip is 13.1 m. The dislocation under Bailu is also dominated by thrust, with maximum slip 8.9 m. (3) The rupture of the Wenchuan earthquake is mainly a unilateral rupture to the northeast. The rupture started at the low dip angle part of the Beichuan fault, and after 3 s, it propagated to the Pengguan fault. After 10 s, the largest asperity under Longmenshan in the south section of the Beichuan fault began to break, lasting for about 24 s. Then, the Xiaoyudong fault was triggered by the Pengguan fault, and the bilateral rupture of the high dip angle part of the Beichuan fault started at about 6 s. South section of the Beichuan fault began to break at about 35 s, and at 43 s, 63 s, and 80 s, the rupture extended to Beichuan, Nanba, and Qingchuan areas.

The definition of design load with walking crowd excitation on these slender structures is a significant problem to human-induced vibration. To capture the characteristics of walking crowd loads, this article researches both the ground reaction force and ground reaction moment for 36 healthy adults. Firstly, a oscillate system modeling walking leg is used to build a governing equation, which further transformed into the discrete state space. Then the Kalman method is applied to filter the noises for the measured ground reaction force, which can well remove the noises hiding in the measured signals. In addition, the Fourier series are used to model the ground reaction force and ground reaction moment, and the first six corresponding coefficients are obtained and analyzed. This work comprehensively explores the excitation force and moment from walking pedestrian feet. The result of this study provides the reference of load design for these slender structures such as footbridges, grandstands, or stations under crowd excitation.

In the reuse stage of a gob-side entry retaining, failure of the structure and stability of the main roof have a significant effect on the safety of the advanced support and ventilation space at the working face. In this study, field investigation, theoretical analysis, and industrial experimentation were performed to analyse the fracture characteristics and formation process of the gob-side entry retaining roof during the reuse period. A dynamic-equilibrium mechanical model of the main roof structure is presented and the formation mechanisms of different types of short cantilever rock beam structures are clarified. The following major conclusions are drawn: (1) Three types of short cantilever rock beam structures occur in the main roof of a gob-side entry retaining during the reuse period, namely, the “short cantilever-articulated rock beam” structure, “short cantilever step rock beam (type I)” structure, and “short cantilever step rock beam (type II)” structure. (2) The stability criterion for these three short cantilever rock beam structures was also determined; that is, when the sliding instability coefficient K ≥ 1, the short cantilever-articulated rock beam structure will form, and when the sliding instability coefficient K

To solve the control problem of the surrounding rock of gob-side entry retaining under typical roof conditions in deep mines, we conduct theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and actual measurements. Starting from the plastic zone of the surrounding rock, the serious damage area, the degree and scope of damage, and the dynamic evolution process of the surrounding rock of the gob-side entry retaining are systematically analyzed under four typical roof conditions in deep mines; the expansion and evolution laws of the plastic zone of the surrounding rock are expounded; and a key control technology is proposed. The results indicate that (1) the plastic failure of surrounding rock was concentrated mainly on the coal side and on the floor, especially in the filling body. The plastic zone of the surrounding rock of the gob-side entry retaining with the thick immediate roof was widely distributed and deep, but the plastic failure of the filling body was not obvious. The plastic failure of the surrounding rock of the gob-side entry retaining with the compound roof was mainly concentrated on the roof, filling body, and floor of the filling area. (2) According to the typical roof conditions of the deep gob-side entry retaining, the order of the degree of damage to the surrounding rock was as follows: thick immediate roof, compound roof, thin immediate roof, and thick-hard roof. (3) A “multisupport structure” control system is proposed for the gob-side entry retaining in a deep mine, including measures for enhancing the bearing performance of the anchorage system, increasing the strength of the cataclastic coal-rock mass, enhancing the bearing capacity of the filling body, and increasing the bearing capacity on the tunnel side. The proposed technology was applied to the deep gob-side entry retaining project in the east area of Panyi Mine, and it effectively fulfilled the reuse requirements of gob-side entry retaining in deep mines.

The seismic response of rock slopes is closely related to the dynamic characteristics of earthquakes. In this study, based on a numerical model of rock slopes with bolt support, the seismic responses of both anchored and unanchored rock slopes under different seismic waves are calculated. The results show that a “cumulative effect” of the relative permanent displacement of the slope is generated during seismic action, and it is found that the permanent displacement of the slope is caused by larger earthquake accelerations. The dynamic responses of an anchored slope are analyzed in terms of the wave type, frequency, amplitude, and duration and are compared with those of an unanchored rock slope. This comparison suggests that the nominal shear strain increases with the amplitude and duration, which decreases as frequency increases. The axial force is directly related to the surrounding rock strain. The maximum axial force of the bolt is near the rock interface, which shows that the structural plane of the slope plays a dominant role in the seismic response. The seismic waves are random, whereas the structural plane of the rock slope is certain. The seismic response characteristics of the slope under different earthquake conditions are similar, and the dynamic stability of the slope can be attributed to the structural analysis of the rock slope.

Through molecular dynamic simulations, a system for investigating the contributions of elastic deformation energy and thermal activation effects to friction has been constructed. In this system, a graphene flake slides on a suspended graphene layer anchored on a bed of springs. The “graphene–spring” system provides a useful ideal approach to model different layers of graphene through changing the stiffness of the springs. The results first indicate that both the friction force and the elastic deformation energy have an exponential dependence on the support stiffness. Second, the observed non-monotonic variation in friction manifested by peaks and plateaus with increasing temperature results from the changing rate of energy dissipation due to the transition of slip regimes. Therefore, we suggest that the friction force emanates from the competition between the interfacial energy barrier and out-of-plane elastic deformation energy, as well as the competition between the thermal activation effects and transition of slip regimes. Therefore, the observation can extend the validity of the Prandtl–Tomlinson model on friction phenomena. Our simulations are intended to provide theoretical guidance when considering the influence of stiffness on the friction between graphene layers in the design of nanodevices.

Hirano bodies are eosinophilic, actin-rich inclusions found in autopsied brains in numerous neurodegenerative diseases. The mechanism of Hirano body formation is unknown. Mass spectrometry analysis was performed to identify proteins from partially purified model Hirano bodies from Dictyostelium. This analysis identified proteins primarily belonging to ribosomes, proteasomes, mitochondria and cytoskeleton. Profilin, Arp/2/3 and WASH identified by mass spectrometry were found to colocalise with model Hirano bodies. Due to their roles in actin regulation, we selected these proteins for further investigation. Inhibition of the Arp2/3 complex by CK666 prevented formation of model Hirano bodies. Since Arp2/3 activation occurs via the WASH or WAVE complex, we next investigated how these proteins affect Hirano body formation. Whereas model Hirano bodies could form in WASH-deficient cells, they failed to form in cells lacking HSPC300, a member of the WAVE complex. We identified other proteins required for Hirano body formation that include profilin and VASP, an actin nucleation factor. In the case of VASP, both its G- and F-actin binding domains were required for model Hirano body formation. Collectively, our results indicate that de novo actin polymerization is required to form model Hirano bodies.

We have examined the temporal and spatial slip distribution of the 2017 Mw 7.3 Iran-Iraq border region earthquake, utilizing 49 broadband teleseismic P-wave records. Based on the nonnegative least square method and multi-time window, a finite fault model was used to parameterize the rupture process. According to the L-curve, the optimal inversion result was detected. The inversion results showed that the earthquake was a shallow-dip thrusting event. Rupture duration was 20 s, and the total seismic moment was 0.9 × 1020 N·m. There was only one asperity in the fault plane, which indicated the rupture process was simple. The slip was mainly distributed around the initial rupture point, dominated by thrust motion with a small amount of right-lateral strike slip, and the maximum slip was 5.2 m, located on a subfault of the initial rupture. The entire rupture lasted 20 s, and 75% of the energy was released in the first 10 s. The rupture area was 825 km2, and the estimated static stress drop was 6.1 MPa.

A realistic seismic simulation of the concrete footing has been made by using finite element method (FEM) software called ABAQUS. The effect of concrete footing embedment in soil on concrete footing-soil foundation interaction has numerically been simulated for considering displacement, stress, strain, and seismic acceleration load response at the base of a concrete footing. The results showed that the height of embedded concrete footing in soil foundation controls (i) mechanism and magnitude of lateral, vertical, and differential displacements of the concrete footing, (ii) strain energy, the acceleration load response, and stress paths, and (iii) concrete footing-soil foundation interaction. Compared with various theoretical and experimental results reported in the literature, the present study provides realistic seismic behavior of concrete footing-soil foundation interaction.

Nonlinear response of liquid partially filled in a rigid cylindrical container with a rigid annular baffle subjected to lateral excitation is studied. A semianalytical approach is presented to determine the natural frequencies and modes of the liquid sloshing. Introducing the generalized time-dependent coordinates, the surface wave height and the velocity potential are expressed in terms of the natural modes of liquid sloshing. Based on the Bateman–Luke variational principle, the infinite-dimensional modal system is given by the variational procedure. The infinite-dimensional modal system is reduced by using the Moiseev asymptotic relations. The resultant hydrodynamic force and moment of the liquid pressure acting on the container mainly depend on the position vector of the mass center of the liquid. Expanding the integral about the weighted position coordinates into the Taylor series about the surface wave height at the unperturbed free surface gives the formula of the position vector of the mass center, which depends only on the generalized time-dependent coordinates. Excellent agreements have been achieved by comparing the present results with those obtained from Gavrilyuk’s solution and SPH solution. Finally, the surface wave height, resultant hydrodynamic force, and hydrodynamic moment for a container subjected to harmonic lateral excitation are discussed in detail.

This paper presents the numerical results of concrete footing-soil foundation seismic interaction mechanism. The concrete footing has been made with two different shapes, but with the equal volume of concrete material. The concrete footing-soil foundation has been analyzed using nonlinear finite elements, with the fixed-base state. The simulated near-fault ground motions have been applied to the concrete footing-soil foundation. The problem has been formulated based on the settlement controlled analysis. The local geotechnical conditions of all configurations have been analyzed. The numerical analysis results indicate that the shape of a concrete footing alters seismic response, revises inertial interaction, enhances damping ratio, improves load carry capacity, modifies cyclic differential settlement, revises failure patterns, minimizes nonlinear deformation, and changes cyclic strain energy dissipation. The novelty of this research work is the strain energy has more been dissipated with artistic concrete footing design.

To seismic design of timber beam, effect of near-fault ground motion on timber beam has numerically been investigated, with refer to small displacement theory. The simulated near-fault ground motion is applied on the fixed base of timber frame model. The beam is located in single span of a timber frame. The beam has two different size of 1.8 and 3.3 meter length. The seismic load-displacement seismic load-strain and strain-displacement have been calculated for all models and graphically depicted. The beam is designed with nonlinear analysis method and same mechanical properties for all models have been used, in numerical analysis. The numerical analysis results indicate that, the inertial interaction, energy dissipation and nonlinear deformation of beam in timber frame have direct relationship with frame span. In beam with smaller length, higher seismic loading is caused lower displacement. The displacement is reduced with reduction length of the beam. The inertial interaction, energy dissipation and nonlinear deformation are changed in respect to length of beam. The novelty of this paper is developing cycling graphs by using ABAQUS, for improve design of timber frame, and adequate explanation of seismic behavior of timber beam.

Numerous studies have revealed the pleiotropic functions of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and have linked it with several neurodegenerative disorders. This review describes the signaling pathways induced by TNF-α via its two receptors (TNFR1 and TNFR2), and their functions in neurodegenerative processes as in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), and ischemic stroke. It has become clear that TNF-α may exert divergent actions in neurodegenerative disorders, including neurodegenerative and neuroprotective effects, which appear to depend on its signaling via either TNFR1 or TNFR2. Specific targeting of these receptors is a promising therapeutic strategy for many disorders.

Water inrush is a common geological disaster during the roadway excavation process in the broken zone of water-rich faults. In this paper, the 15107 mining roadway built by Yuxing coal mine in such a fault zone was used as a case study to determine the water content of the surrounding rocks and a fault zone using the transient electromagnetic method (TEM). Also, the mechanics characteristics of such rocks in both saturated and unsaturated states were analyzed, a computational model for fluid-solid coupling in the water-rich fault fracture zone was established, and the permeability coefficient of the rocks under both shield support and bolt-grouting support was compared, along with analyzing the changes in pore pressure, fissure water velocity, and characteristics of deformation in the surrounding rocks. The numerical simulation results show that the fault range has an influence of about 20 m, which causes the forms of permeability coefficient to change like a hump. The permeability coefficient in the fractured zone is the largest, and the mutation rate at the fault plane is faster. Bolting not only reduces the permeability coefficient of the surrounding rock that is 1/10 of the beam support but also prevents the roof fissure water inrushing the roadway and the surrounding rock of the floor, while also causing the pore-water pressure to decrease, even reduce to zero, in front of the working face and floor. The flow velocity of the fissure water can be decreased by bolting, which can effectively control the deformation of the surrounding rock by 38.7%∼65% compared with the shield support. The practice results show that this method can effectively recover the cracks surrounding the mining roadway and stop gushing water. Concurrently, it successfully controls deformation of the surrounding rocks in the fault zone, thus ensuring stability of the roadway and facilitating safer mining production.

The normal and lateral (in the sliding direction) vibration can achieve ‘dynamic superlubricity’ at the atomic scale which has been studied and proved by other researchers. In this study, we have found that the lateral excitation (perpendicular to the sliding direction) which has rarely been studied before can also reduce the average friction force greatly. By utilizing the tip path on the interaction potential energy surface and plotting the interaction potential energy as a function of support position, we elucidated the reason of dynamic superlubricity caused by lateral excitation. The details of the lateral excitation at the atomic scale friction have been demonstrated by molecular dynamics simulations and numerical computation based on the Prandtl-Tomlinson model. This study can increase the understanding of the ultrasonic vibration excitation at atomic scale friction.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a predominant factor of pulmonary infection. We analyzed the risk factors of VAP with acute cerebral hemorrhage in intensive care unit (ICU) by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. After comparison of 197 cases of the VAP and non-VAP patients, we found that age > 65 years (P=0.003), smoke (P=0.003), coronary heart disease (P=0.005), diabetes (P=0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (P=0.002), ICU and hospital stay (P=0.01), and days on mechanical ventilation (P=0.01) were significantly different, indicating that they are risk factors of VAP. All the age > 65 years (OR = 3.350, 95% CI = 1.936–5.796, P≤0.001), smoke (OR = 3.206, 95% CI = 1.909–5.385, P≤0.001), coronary heart disease (OR = 3.179, 95% CI = 1.015–4.130, P=0.017), diabetes (OR = 5.042, 95% CI = 3.518–7.342, P≤0.001), COPD (OR = 1.942, 95% CI = 1.258–2.843, P=0.012), ICU and hospital stay (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.145–3.892, P=0.038), and days on mechanical ventilation (OR = 1.992, 95% CI = 1.107–3.287, P=0.007) are independent risk factors of VAP. After observation of patients with 6 months of follow-up, the BI score was significantly lower in VAP than that in non-VAP, and the rebleeding rate and mortality rate were significantly higher in VAP than those in non-VAP. Thus, the prognosis of the patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage and VAP in ICU is poor.

We proposed a type of low-alkali liquid state setting accelerator, named HLSA; it was environmentally friendly product. To investigate the temperature adaptation and cement flexibilities of HLSA, the setting time and strength development properties of cement with HLSA were discussed in this paper. The effects of HLSA on hydration process, hydration products, and microstructure were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results show that four typical 42.5-grade ordinary Portland cement types with 6–8% HLSA could satisfy the first-grade requirements according to JC477-2005 even at a lower temperature (e.g., 10°C). Further, the percentage ratio of 28 d compressive strength of cement with 6–8% HLSA was over 90%; the XRD diffraction peak of AFt integrated area of cement with 7% HLSA was 3818 at 5 min of hydration; SEM observation revealed that AFt crystals were filled in the pore of cement at 28 d of hydration; the temperature adaptation and cement flexibilities of HLSA were excellent; the cement with HLSA coagulating in a short time attributed to promoting the formation of abundant AFt and the hydration of C3S.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the inhibitory modulation of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptides, particularly with respect to the function of the D3 dopamine receptor (D3R), which is activated by its interaction with phosphorylated CaMKIIα (pCaMKIIα) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). After repeated oral administration of caffeine (30 mg/kg) for five days, microinjection of CART peptide (0.08 μM/0.5 μl/hemisphere) into the NAc affected locomotor behavior. The pCaMKIIα-D3R interaction, D3R phosphorylation and cAMP/PKA/phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) signaling pathway activity were measured in NAc tissues, and Ca2+ influx and pCaMKIIα levels were measured in cultured NAc neurons. We found that CART attenuated the caffeine-mediated enhancement of depolarization-induced Ca2+ influx and CaMKIIα phosphorylation in cultured NAc neurons. Repeated microinjection of CART peptides into the NAc decreased the caffeine-induced enhancement of Ca2+ channels activity, pCaMKIIα levels, the pCaMKIIα-D3R interaction, D3R phosphorylation, cAMP levels, PKA activity and pCREB levels in the NAc. Furthermore, behavioral sensitization was observed in rats that received five-day administration of caffeine following microinjection of saline but not in rats that were treated with caffeine following microinjection of CART peptide. These results suggest that caffeine-induced CREB phosphorylation in the NAc was ameliorated by CART peptide due to its inhibition of D3R phosphorylation. These effects of CART peptides may play a compensatory role by inhibiting locomotor behavior in rats.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important imaging modality in both clinical usage and research studies. We have developed a compact high-sensitivity PET system that consisted of two large-area panel PET detector heads, which produce more than 224 million lines of response and thus request dramatic computational demands. In this work, we employed a state-of-the-art graphics processing unit (GPU), NVIDIA Tesla C2070, to yield an efficient reconstruction process. Our approaches ingeniously integrate the distinguished features of the symmetry properties of the imaging system and GPU architectures, including block/warp/thread assignments and effective memory usage, to accelerate the computations for ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) image reconstruction. The OSEM reconstruction algorithms were implemented employing both CPU-based and GPU-based codes, and their computational performance was quantitatively analyzed and compared. The results showed that the GPU-accelerated scheme can drastically reduce the reconstruction time and thus can largely expand the applicability of the dual-head PET system.