Mirror therapy (MT) has been proposed as an essential component of upper limb neuro-rehabilitation, using mirror illusion of the unaffected hand movement and superimposing it on the affected hand to ...improve neuroplasticity for improving motor recovery in stroke patients. In this paper, we developed a virtual reality mirror therapy (VRMT) system, and examined the performance of the proposed VRMT system. The VRMT system consists of a motion-tracking device, a VR goggle, and a VRMT software. Young, healthy participants, and stroke patients with mild-to-severe hemiparesis were recruited in this study, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed VRMT system. Experimental results based on the pinch-holding-up activity (PHUA) test revealed a significant effect on the precision pinch performance of young-healthy participants receiving VRMT, whereas traditional MT could not improve the precision pinch performance in young-healthy participants (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">Z= -2.693 </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">p=0.007 </tex-math></inline-formula>). For patients having suffered a stroke and being treated with VRMT, significant beneficial effects examined by mixed effect model were found on the total score of FMA (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">p=0.033 </tex-math></inline-formula>) and hand part of FMA (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">p=0.008 </tex-math></inline-formula>). The findings in this study indicate that the VRMT system has a potentially positive effects on the sensorimotor performance of hands in healthy participants. In addition, add-on effect of VR to MT provides beneficial effects on motor function of the upper extremity in chronic stroke patients.
In this letter, a terahertz monolithic integrated planar band‐pass filter based on coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonators has been proposed. By adopting the feeding line in form of a slotline, the need ...for air‐bridges in traditional CPW filters is eliminated, achieving good integrability and reducing fabrication difficulty. To further improve the filtering performance, the defected ground structure is used in the design, introducing a finite transmission zero at the lower sideband. The filter is manufactured on the semi‐insulation silicon carbide (SiC) substrate, to fit the existing advanced GaN‐on‐SiC monolithic integration system. Measurement reveals the fractional band‐width of 5.7% at the center frequency of 279 GHz, with an insertion loss of 5.1 dB. With a volume of 500 × 400 × 50 μm (0.45 × 0.36 × 0.045 λ0), the proposed filter improves the performance of the planar filter operating at the terahertz band effectively.
We study the vanishing dissipation limit of the three-dimensional (3D) compressible Navier-Stokes-Fourier equations to the corresponding 3D full Euler equations. Our results are twofold. First, we ...prove that the 3D compressible Navier-Stokes-Fourier equations admit a family of smooth solutions that converge to the planar rarefaction wave solution of the 3D compressible Euler equations with arbitrary strength. Second, we obtain a uniform convergence rate in terms of the viscosity and heat-conductivity coefficients. Due to the 3D setting the approach for the two-dimensional case could not be applied directly. Instead, the analysis of the 3D case is carried out in the original non-scaled variables, and consequently the dissipation terms are more singular. Novel ideas and techniques are developed to establish the uniform estimates. More accurate a priori assumptions with respect to the dissipation coefficients are crucially needed for the stability analysis, and some new observations on the cancellations of the physical structures for the flux terms are essentially used to justify the 3D limit. Moreover, we find that the decay rate with respect to the dissipation coefficients is determined by the nonlinear flux terms in the original variables for the 3D limit.
Pterygium is a common chronic ophthalmic condition, which may result in significant visual morbidity or lead to blindness in extreme cases. The prevalence of pterygium in China has not been reported ...at the sub-national level.
In this study, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of pterygium in China. China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database (CBM-SinoMed), PubMed, Embase and Medline were searched before September 2016. We performed a multilevel mixed-effect meta-regression based on the included studies, our results showed that age, gender and latitude were significantly associated with pterygium prevalence. Based on the final model, the age and gender-specific prevalence of pterygium in 31 Chinese provinces (except Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan) and the whole country was generated.
In 2010, the overall prevalence of pterygium in Chinese people aged 15-84 years was 9.84% (95% CI: 6.72-14.14), and the number of pterygium cases in China was 108.65 million (95% CI: 74.23-156.13).
In conclusion, the prevalence of pterygium in Chinese population in 2010 was estimated at both the national and provincial levels. The higher burden of pterygium across the country calls for efforts to advocate public health education encouraging people to take appropriate protective measures.
This study aims to combine carbon fibers and copper metallic wires using a rotary twister, and the employment of wire coating technique reinforces the mechanical properties of carbon fibers, creating ...more feasible applications. The proposed carbon (C)/copper (Cu)/polyester (PET)/polypropylene (PP)/acrylic (A) woven fabrics preserve the electrical conductivity of carbon fibers and metallic wires while maintaining the thin and soft features of woven fabrics. In addition to good electrical conductivity, wire coating technique provides the coated wires with greater mechanical properties, including tensile strength, elongation, bending torsion, creep resistance, and wear‐resistant property. The proposed manufacturing design contributes to an innovative production without interfering with the intrinsic properties of materials, which also broadens the application range of the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness products.
Extremely efficient sky‐blue organic electroluminescence with external quantum efficiency of ≈37% is achieved in a conventional planar device structure, using a highly efficient thermally activated ...delayed fluorescence emitter based on the spiroacridine–triazine hybrid and simultaneously possessing nearly unitary (100%) photoluminescence quantum yield, excellent thermal stability, and strongly horizontally oriented emitting dipoles (with a horizontal dipole ratio of 83%).
We present constraints on extensions to the standard cosmological model of a spatially flat Universe governed by general relativity, a cosmological constant (Λ), and cold dark matter (CDM) by varying ...the spatial curvature Ω
K
, the sum of the neutrino masses ∑
m
ν
, the dark energy equation of state parameter
w
, and the Hu-Sawicki
f
(
R
) gravity
f
R
0
parameter. With the combined 3 × 2 pt measurements of cosmic shear from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-1000), galaxy clustering from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), and galaxy-galaxy lensing from the overlap between KiDS-1000, BOSS, and the spectroscopic 2-degree Field Lensing Survey, we find results that are fully consistent with a flat ΛCDM model with Ω
K
= 0.011
−0.057
+0.054
, ∑
m
ν
< 1.76 eV (95% CL), and
w
= −0.99
−0.13
+0.11
. The
f
R
0
parameter is unconstrained in our fully non-linear
f
(
R
) cosmic shear analysis. Considering three different model selection criteria, we find no clear preference for either the fiducial flat ΛCDM model or any of the considered extensions. In addition to extensions to the flat ΛCDM parameter space, we also explore restrictions to common subsets of the flat ΛCDM parameter space by fixing the amplitude of the primordial power spectrum to the
Planck
best-fit value, as well as adding external data from supernovae and lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Neither the beyond-ΛCDM models nor the imposed restrictions explored in this analysis are able to resolve the ∼3
σ
tension in
S
8
between the 3 × 2 pt constraints and the
Planck
temperature and polarisation data, with the exception of
w
CDM, where the
S
8
tension is resolved. The tension in the
w
CDM case persists, however, when considering the joint
S
8
−
w
parameter space. The joint flat ΛCDM CMB lensing and 3 × 2 pt analysis is found to yield tight constraints on Ω
m
= 0.307
−0.013
+0.008
,
σ
8
= 0.769
−0.010
+0.022
, and
S
8
= 0.779
−0.013
+0.013
.
In this letter, we fabricated and characterized a linear variable filter based on a guided-mode resonance filter (GMRF) with gradient grating periods. The GMRF was first fabricated through ...nanoreplica molding on a plastic substrate, which was followed by the deposition of a thin TiO 2 film. The grating periods of the GMRF vary from 250 to 550 nm with a 2-nm increment in each period consisting of 100 cycles. The results show that a 6-mm-long GMRF has a filtering range of 506-915 nm.
Introduction and hypothesis
We examined obstetric and maternal-newborn factors and UI history for stress urinary incontinence (UI) and urge UI during pregnancy and the first year postpartum.
Methods
...This prospective cohort study included 1447 pregnant women who underwent prenatal examinations and completed an Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form before pregnancy, during early, mid- and late pregnancy, and at five visits during the first year postpartum. Data were analyzed using univariate/multivariate generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression analyses.
Results
The prevalence rates of stress UI during late pregnancy (42.5%) and urge UI at 3–5 days postpartum (10.4%) were the highest throughout pregnancy and the first year postpartum. After adjusting for covariates, gestational age increased the risks of stress UI (
p
< 0.001) and urge UI (
p
= 0.003); stress UI during pre-pregnancy, number of previous vaginal deliveries and concurrent high body mass index (BMI) increased stress UI (all
p
< 0.05); urge UI during pre-pregnancy and full-time work increased urge UI (both
p
< 0.05) during pregnancy. During the postpartum period, vaginal delivery increased stress UI (
p
< 0.001) and urge UI (
p
= 0.041); stress UI during pre-pregnancy and pregnancy, women aged ≥ 30 years and vacuum extraction/forceps delivery increased stress UI (all
p
< 0.05). Urge UI during early, mid- and late pregnancy increased stress UI (all
p
< 0.05).
Conclusions
Gestational age increased stress and urge UI, while previous vaginal deliveries and high BMI increased stress UI; full-time work increased urge UI during pregnancy. Vaginal delivery increased both UIs, and vacuum/forceps delivery and maternal age increased stress UI during postpartum.
Although macroeconomic news has a major impact on corporate earnings, anecdotal evidence suggests that financial analyst research is inefficient with respect to such news. Examining analysts' ...earnings research, we find that they underreact to negative macroeconomic news. Analysts are not all equal, though, as analysts employed at the same firm as an active macroeconomist underreact much less. We find that the benefit of analyst access to an economist is concentrated in firms that are high in cyclically relative to their industry, high in cyclically in general, and that are smaller in size. In addition, analysts who are exposed to more accurate or awardwinning in-house macroeconomists benefit more. Investors appear to recognize the advantage of access to macroeconomists, reacting more strongly to these analysts' forecast revisions. Overall, our results suggest that the presence of an active in-house macroeconomist improves the efficiency and credibility of analyst research.
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