Improvement in rehabilitation outcomes for patients suffering from chronic stroke can be attained through systematic desensitization of their fear of falling, which in turn reduces the risk of ...falling.
This study aimed to examine the effect of adding systematic desensitization to a goal-directed paradigm on functional performance, balance, risk of falling, and fear of falling among chronic ischemic stroke patients.
Two equally sized groups, each comprising 40 stroke patients of both sexes, were randomly divided. For 8 weeks, Group A received three sessions per week of combined treatment consisting of systematic desensitization and a goal-directed paradigm, while Group B received only the goal-directed paradigm. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) were used to assess function performance; the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Biodex Fall Risk Index (FRI) were used to evaluate balance; and the 16-item Fall Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) was used to evaluate fear of falling. At baseline and after the treatment, all measurements were obtained.
Both groups (A and B) revealed a substantial increase in functional performance through a decrease in TUG scores and an increase in DGI. Additionally, there was a decrease in the risk of falling through an increase in the BBS scores and a decrease in the FRI. Furthermore, there was a decrease in the fear of falling, as measured using the FES-I, after treatment, with superior improvement in Group A with a
-value of <0.001.
Systematic desensitization combined with a goal-directed paradigm has a superior effect on improving functional performance and reducing the risk of falling and the fear of falling in patients with stroke compared to a goal-directed paradigm alone.
To evaluate the effect of different frequencies of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation( rTMS) on cognitive function in stroke patients.
The study was conducted on 30 right handed stroke ...patients with right sided hemiparesis and history of stroke from 6 to 20months. They were divided into two equal groups; group I receiving 10Hz frequency of rTMS and group II receiving 5Hz in 10 sessions. Each session included 6 trains and 7min duration. They were evaluated by Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination Revised Test (ACER) and transcranial doppler (TCD) for blood flow velocity (BFV) in affected middle cerebral artery pre and post- treatment with rTMS.
There was a significant differences in blood flow velocity in the affected side (left MCA) in both groups (p<0.05) with improvement of (20.02%, 11.41%) respectively. There was also a significant differences in total ACER Test in both groups (p<0.05) with improvement of (33.5%, 25%) respectively. A significant positive correlation (p<0.05) between improvement percentage of blood flow and improvement percentage of total ACER Test in both groups was found.
This study showed significant increase in the BFV in the MCA and the total ACER score after applying high frequencies of rTMS, supported by many authors.
High frequency rTMS plays a major role in improving the cognitive impairment in stroke patients.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation should be considered a future cornerstone in neurorehabilitation and therapy.
An efficient control strategy for two connected microgrids (MGs) is proposed to ensure stable and economic operation. One of the most important means of improving energy efficiency is to achieve the ...best response for sudden and stochastic disturbances to which the MGs are subjected. Traditionally, MGs are controlled using a linear controller, such as conventional proportional‐integral (PI) controller. Fuzzy PI (FPI) controller‐based model reference adaptive control that can adapt to a wide range of operating conditions for regulating the voltage is investigated and its performance is compared with the conventional linear PI controller that is not able to mitigate these disturbances efficiently. Parameters of the proposed controller are optimised using an advanced optimisation technique called global porcellio scaber algorithm (GPSA). Performance of the controllers is demonstrated on two connected microgrids for a number of scenarios such as load variations, weather fluctuations and faults. Simulation results verify that the proposed control strategy is effective and feasible under various operating conditions for this system. The results also show that the dynamic performance of the system with the model reference adaptive fuzzy PI (MRAFPI) controller is better than that with the most common controller used for this application, the conventional PI controller, for different operating conditions.
During a pandemic, healthcare workers are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. To protect these important individuals, it is highly recommended that they receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Our study ...focused on evaluating the safety and efficacy of Egypt's first approved vaccine, the Sinopharm vaccine (BBIBP-CorV), and comparing these findings with other vaccines.
An observational study was conducted in fifteen triage and isolation hospitals, from the 1st of March until the end of September 2021. The study included fully vaccinated and unvaccinated participants, and we measured vaccine effectiveness (using 1-aHR), the incidence rate of severely to critically ill hospitalized cases, COVID-19-related work absenteeism, and the safety of the vaccine as outcomes.
Of the 1364 healthcare workers who were interviewed, 1228 agreed to participate. After taking the hazard ratio into account, the vaccine effectiveness was found to be 67% (95% CI, 80-43%) for symptomatic PCR-confirmed cases. The incidence rate ratio for hospitalization was 0.45 (95% CI, 0.15-1.31) in the vaccinated group compared to the unvaccinated group, and there was a significant reduction in absenteeism among the vaccinated group (
< 0.007). Most adverse events were mild and well tolerated. Vaccinated pregnant and lactating mothers did not experience any sentinel adverse events.
Our study found that the BBIBP-CorV vaccine was effective in protecting healthcare workers from COVID-19.
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