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During functional recovery after stroke, some neural connections in the brain are augmented and new neural networks are constructed to compensate for impaired neurological functions. Recently, it was reported that the extent of cortico-cortical neural connections can be estimated by correlation analysis based on electroencephalography (EEG). The purpose of this study was to investigate changes of correlation coefficients in the cerebral cortex with motor functional recovery after stroke.Twenty-two post-stroke hemiparetic patients admitted to our rehabilitation ward (mean age at admission: 71.4 ± 12.9 years old), were studied. For the evaluation of hemiparesis, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) was applied. All subjects underwent EEG with electrodes placed according to the international 10-20 system for correlation analysis, on admission to our ward and 4 weeks after admission. EEG data were analyzed with the program software FOCUS (NIHON KOHDEN, Japan), and squared correlation coefficients in some cortico-cortical areas of the cerebral cortex were calculated.The correlation coefficients in some cortico-cortical areas of the lesional hemisphere, such as C3-F3 or C4-F4, C3-F7 or C4-F8, and F3-F7 or F4-F8, significantly increased with rehabilitation training. The change of the correlation coefficient in F3-F7 or F4-F8 and F7-T3 or F8-T4 in the lesional hemisphere was significantly correlated with the change of the upper-limb FMA.The augmentation of cortico-cortical connections, represented by an increase of the correlation coefficient in the lesional hemisphere, may contribute to motor functional recovery, especially in hemiparetic upper limbs, after stroke.

Introduction: Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) therapy is an innovative and minimally invasive neurorehabilitative technique and has been shown to facilitate neural plasticity. However, there is at present no research that clarifies the dose–response of rPMS therapy on the recovery of upper limb hemiparesis after stroke. This trial aims to clarify the dose–response of rPMS therapy combined with intensive occupational therapy (OT) for chronic stroke patients with moderate to severe upper limb hemiparesis. Methods and analysis: This multicenter, prospective, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled study with 3 parallel groups will be conducted from January 20, 2020 to September 30, 2022. Fifty patients will be randomly assigned in a ratio of 1:2:2 to the control group, the group receiving daily 2400 pulses of rPMS, or the group receiving daily 4800 pulses of rPMS, respectively. From the day after admission (Day 1), rPMS therapy and intensive OT will be initiated. The primary outcome is the change in the motor function of the affected upper extremity (Fugl-Meyer Assessment) between the time of admission (Day 0) and the day after 2 weeks of treatment (Day 14). Secondary outcomes will include the changes in spasticity, active range of motion, motor evoked potential, and activity of daily living. Ethics and dissemination: The study was approved by the Jikei University Certified Review Board for all institutions (reference number: JKI19–020). Results of the primary and secondary outcomes will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at international congresses. The results will also be disseminated to patients. Trial registration number: jRCTs032190191.

This study was to investigate whether the Ability for Basic Movement Scale II (ABMS II) at admission of the convalescent rehabilitation ward (CRW) could predict the ambulation ability in patients after hip fracture surgery.The data of the ABMS II and Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) of 118 postsurgical patients with hip fracture who were transferred to the CRW were retrospectively analyzed (mean age 82.7 ± 7.9, female/male: 89/29). Binary logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to investigate the predictive value of ABMS II for walking ability at discharge.Spearman's correlation analysis showed that there were significantly positive correlations between the ABMS II score at admission and FAC score at discharge (ρ = 0.70, P 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that ABMS II and BMI can be the predictor in both FAC4 or ≥4 groups. ROC analysis indicated that an optimal cutoff of 24.5 points of ABMS II score predicted independent walking ability (area under the Curve (AUC) 0.87, P 0.05).The ABMS II at admission in CRW can be a prediction method of ambulation recovery for the patients after hip fracture surgery.Retrospective clinical study.

This study examines the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) incigarettes and sidestream cigarette smoke. All 16 gas-phase PAHs and fourteen particulate-phase PAHs weredetermined in sidestream cigarette smoke for four brands of cigarettes. The median total of gas-phase andparticulate-phase PAH concentrations after two cigarettes were smoked were 79.6 ng/m3 and 10.0 ng/m3, andthe concentrations were several times higher than before smoking. Median PAH increases in the air sampleswere 1050 ng per cigarette for gas-phase PAHs and 228 ng per cigarette for particulate-phase PAHs. Gas–particle partition coefficients (Kp) of PAHs in air samples before and after smoking were correlated with thesubcooled liquid vapor pressures (PLo) of PAHs. The slopes of log-log plots of Kp versus PLo before and aftersmoking were -0.270 and -0.575, respectively. PAH partitioning between the gas and particle phases aftersmoking was closer to equilibrium state because the slope was closer to -1. Furthermore, all 16 PAHs weredetermined in the cigarettes. The medians of total PAH concentrations in the four brands of cigarettes were353 ng/g before smoking and 1130 ng/g after smoking. Median PAH increase in the cigarette samples duringsmoking was 1410 ng per cigarette. The relationships in the concentration of the between total suspendedparticulate (TSP) and total particulate-phase PAHs, and between total gas-phase PAHs and total particulate-phase PAHs were significantly positive. These findings imply that lowering the amount of TSP generated willlower the amounts of PAHs generated.

A 0.6-V 2-2 cascaded audio delta-sigma ADC is described. It uses a resistor-based sampling technique which achieves high linearity and low-voltage operation without subjecting the devices to large terminal voltages. A low-distortion feed-forward topology combined with nonlinear local feedback results in enhanced linearity by reducing the sensitivity to opamp distortion, and allows increased input amplitude, resulting in higher SNDR. The modulator achieves 82-dB dynamic range and 81-dB peak SNDR in the A-weighted audio signal bandwidth with an OSR of 64. The total power consumption of the modulator is 1 mW from a 0.6-V supply. The prototype occupies 2.9 mm/sup 2/ using a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology.

A 2-2 MASH ADC consumes 1mW from a 0.6V supply. It utilizes a local feedback loop for large input range, and switched-RC integrators to achieve high linearity without clock boosting or bootstrapping. The prototype IC is fabricated in a 0.35/spl mu/m CMOS process. It provides 82dB DR over the A-weighted audio band, and 103dB SFDR at -3dBFS input.

A new lithography technique using continuous wave (CW) 266 nm radiation from an all solid state frequency quadrupled Nd:YAG laser is described and demonstrated. This laser has proved to be a highly efficient and promising deep UV light source in fabrication of 0.25 micron design rule device. Furthermore, we obtained 0.2 micron L/S pattern with phase shift mask. Speckle free images are obtained with rotating diffuser. The performance and potential of this new laser as a light source of microlithography are discussed and compared with KrF excimer laser theoretically and experimentally.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Novel disulfide-derivatized stable π-radical was prepared and it was found to form a dense self-assembled monolayer of π-radical thiols on a gold surface through a reductive cleavage of the S-S bond.