Combining physical training with transcranial direct current stimulation to improve gait in Parkinson's disease: a pilot randomized controlled study

OBJECTIVE: To improve gait and balance in patients with Parkinson's disease by combining anodal transcranial direct current stimulation with physical training. DESIGN: In a double-blind design, one group (physical training; n = 8) underwent gait and balance training during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS; real/sham). Real stimulation consisted of 15 minutes of 2 mA transcranial direct current stimulation over primary motor and premotor cortex. For sham, the current was switched off after 30 seconds. Patients received the opposite stimulation (sham/real) with physical training one week later; the second group (No physical training; n = 8) received stimulation (real/sham) but no training, and also repeated a sequential transcranial direct current stimulation session one week later (sham/real). SETTING: Hospital Srio Libanes, Buenos Aires, Argentina. SUBJECTS: Sixteen community-dwelling patients with Parkinson's disease. INTERVENTIONS: Transcranial direct current stimulation with and without concomitant physical training. MAIN MEASURES: Gait velocity (primary gait outcome), stride length, timed 6-minute walk test, Timed Up and Go Test (secondary outcomes), and performance on the pull test (primary balance outcome). RESULTS: Transcranial direct current stimulation with physical training increased gait velocity (mean = 29.5%, SD = 13; p < 0.01) and improved balance (pull test: mean = 50.9%, SD = 37; p = 0.01) compared with transcranial direct current stimulation alone. There was no isolated benefit of transcranial direct current stimulation alone. Although physical training improved gait velocity (mean = 15.5%, SD = 12.3; p = 0.03), these effects were comparatively less than with combined tDCS + physical therapy (p < 0.025). Greater stimulation-related improvements were seen in patients with more advanced disease. CONCLUSIONS: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation during physical training improves gait and balance in patients with Parkinson's disease. Power calculations revealed that 14 patients per treatment arm (α = 0.05; power = 0.8) are required for a definitive trial

A Dynamic Distributed Architecture for Preserving Privacy of Medical IoT Monitoring Measurements

Medical and general health-related measurements can increasingly be performed via IoT components and protocols, whilst inexpensive sensors allow the capturing of a wider range of parameters in clinical, care, and general health monitoring domains. Measurements must typically be combined to allow e.g. differential diagnosis, and in many cases it is highly desirable to track progression over time or to detect anomalies in care and general monitoring contexts. However, the sensitive nature of such data requires safeguarding, particularly where data is retained by different third parties such as medical device manufacturers for extended periods. This appears to be very challenging especially when standards-based interoperability (i.e using IoT standards like HyperCAT or Web of Things-WoT) is to be achieved. This is because open meta-data of those standards can facilitate inference and source linkage if compiled or analysed by adversaries. Therefore, we propose an architecture of pseudonimyised distributed storage including a dynamic query analyser to protect the privacy of information being released

A False Start in the Race Against Doping in Sport: Concerns With Cycling’s Biological Passport

Professional cycling has suffered from a number of doping scandals. The sport’s governing bodies have responded by implementing an aggressive new antidoping program known as the biological passport. Cycling’s biological passport marks a departure from traditional antidoping efforts, which have focused on directly detecting prohibited substances in a cyclist’s system. Instead, the biological passport tracks biological variables in a cyclist’s blood and urine over time, monitoring for fluctuations that are thought to indirectly reveal the effects of doping. Although this method of indirect detection is promising, it also raises serious legal and scientific concerns. Since its introduction, the cycling community has debated the reliability of indirect biological-passport evidence and the clarity, consistency, and transparency of its use in proving doping violations. Such uncertainty undermines the legitimacy of finding cyclists guilty of doping based on this indirect evidence alone. Antidoping authorities should address these important concerns before continuing to pursue doping sanctions against cyclists solely on the basis of their biological passports

Modular Medium-Voltage Grid-Connected Converter with Improved Switching Techniques for Solar Photovoltaic Systems

© 1982-2012 IEEE. The high-frequency common magnetic-link made of amorphous material, as a replacement for common dc-link, has been gaining considerable interest for the development of solar photovoltaic medium-voltage converters. Even though the common magnetic-link can almost maintain identical voltages at the secondary terminals, the power conversion system loses its modularity. Moreover, the development of high-capacity high-frequency inverter and power limit of the common magnetic-link due to leakage inductance are the main challenging issues. In this regard, a new concept of identical modular magnetic-links is proposed for high-power transmission and isolation between the low and the high voltage sides. Third harmonic injected sixty degree bus clamping pulse width modulation and third harmonic injected thirty degree bus clamping pulse width modulation techniques are proposed which show better frequency spectra as well as reduced switching loss. In this paper, precise loss estimation method is used to calculate switching and conduction losses of a modular multilevel cascaded converter. To ensure the feasibility of the new concepts, a reduced size of 5 kVA rating, three-phase, five-level, 1.2 kV converter is designed with two 2.5 kVA identical high-frequency magnetic-links using Metglas magnetic alloy-based cores

Non-bleeding Spontaneous Rupture of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not uncommon and most ruptured HCC present with hemoperitoneum and hemorrhagic shock. Management of ruptured HCC is different than non.ruptured one. Short. and long.term mortality increases following rupture of HCC with increasing chances of tumor dissemination. We describe a case with non-bleeding spontaneous rupture of HCC. A 62-year-old male patient was admitted to our institute hospital with mild to moderate pain in the right upper part of the abdomen. He lost appetite and weight. Ultrasonography of the abdomen was performed and it suggested HCC and ascites. Triple phase computer tomography revealed HCC in segments 6 and 7 of liver with typical radiological characteristics. Portal vein was thrombosed. No extravasation of dye was seen. Ruptured of tumor through liver capsule was seen with necrosis and hemorrhage in the center of the tumor.  Non.bleeding ruptured HCC has not been reported in the literature to the best of our knowledge. We herein describe this rare case.Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, hemoperitoneum, spontaneous ruptur

Normalizing single-cell RNA sequencing data: challenges and opportunities

Single-cell transcriptomics is becoming an important component of the molecular biologist's toolkit. A critical step when analyzing data generated using this technology is normalization. However, normalization is typically performed using methods developed for bulk RNA sequencing or even microarray data, and the suitability of these methods for single-cell transcriptomics has not been assessed. We here discuss commonly used normalization approaches and illustrate how these can produce misleading results. Finally, we present alternative approaches and provide recommendations for single-cell RNA sequencing users

Factors that affect proliferation of Salmonella in tomatoes post-harvest: the roles of seasonal effects, irrigation regime, crop and pathogen genotype

MAIN OBJECTIVES: Fresh fruits and vegetables become increasingly recognized as vehicles of human salmonellosis. Physiological, ecological, and environmental factors are all thought to contribute to the ability of Salmonella to colonize fruits and vegetables pre- and post-harvest. The goal of this study was to test how irrigation levels, fruit water congestion, crop and pathogen genotypes affect the ability of Salmonella to multiply in tomatoes post-harvest. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Fruits from three tomato varieties, grown over three production seasons in two Florida locations, were infected with seven strains of Salmonella and their ability to multiply post-harvest in field-grown tomatoes was tested. The field experiments were set up as a two-factor factorial split plot experiment, with the whole-plot treatments arranged in a randomized complete-block design. The irrigation treatment (at three levels) was the whole-plot factor, and the split-plot factor was tomato variety, with three levels. The significance of the main, two-way, and three-way interaction effects was tested using the (type III) F-tests for fixed effects. Mean separation for each significant fixed effect in the model was performed using Tukey's multiple comparison testing procedure. MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AND SIGNIFICANCE: The irrigation regime per se did not affect susceptibility of the crop to post-harvest proliferation of Salmonella. However, Salmonella grew significantly better in water-congested tissues of green tomatoes. Tomato maturity and genotype, Salmonella genotype, and inter-seasonal differences were the strongest factors affecting proliferation. Red ripe tomatoes were significantly and consistently more conducive to proliferation of Salmonella. Tomatoes harvested in the driest, sunniest season were the most conducive to post-harvest proliferation of the pathogen. Statistically significant interactions between production conditions affected post-harvest susceptibility of the crop to the pathogen. UV irradiation of tomatoes post-harvest promoted Salmonella growth

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Pengaruh penggunaan smartphone sebagai media pembelajaran terhadap hasil belajar siswa mata pelajaran IPS di SMPN 21 Kota Malang

INDONESIA: Suatu hal yang berperan penting untuk memudahkan manusia dalam melakukan beberapa hal, yang membuat manusia dari waktu ke waktu bisa berkembang yang bersumber dari ilmu pengetahuan yaitu teknologi. Hampir setiap aspek dalam kehidupan sehari-hari berkaitan dengan yang namanya teknologi, salah satu inovasi dari teknologi yang sudah menjamur dan sering sekali digunakan oleh manusia saat ini adalah smartphone atau ponsel pintar. Oleh karena smartphone sekarang sudah menjadi alat media pembelajaran di suatu lembaga pendidikan, apalagi semenjak pandemi covid-19. Meskipun begitu tetap saja sebagai pengguna tetap harus bijak dalam menggunakan sebuah teknologi, agar tujuan sebenarnya dalam penggunaannya sebagai media pembelajaran bisa tercapai dengan benar. Seiring dengan perkembangannya, smartphone bisa memiliki dampak atau pengaruh bagi pelajar baik dampak yang positif maupun dampak yang negatif. Oleh karenanya penggunaan smartphone sebagai media pembelajaran dapat mempengaruhi hasil belajar siswa atau sebaliknya. Adapun rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah: Bagaimana pengaruh penggunaan smartphone sebagai media pembelajaran terhadap hasil belajar siswa mata pelajaran IPS di SMPN 21 Kota Malang. Adapun tujuan penelitiannya ialah: Untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan smartphone sebagai media pembelajaran terhadap hasil belajar siswa mata pelajaran IPS di SMPN 21 Kota Malang. Penelitian ini dilakukan di SMPN 21 Kota Malang, dengan menggunakan metode pendekatan penelitian kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian Field Reserach (penelitian lapangan), yaitu penelitian yang dilakukan dengan cara terjun langsung ke lapangan. Sampel penelitiannya adalah kelas VIII metode pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah purposive sampling. Instrumen penelitian yang digunakan adalah angket, dan teknik pengumpulan data untuk memperoleh data melalui penyebaran angket atau kuesioner. Analisis data yang digunakan untuk mengetahui pengaruh variabel bebas yaitu penggunaan smartphone terhadap variabel terikat hasil belajar siswa, digunakan teknik regresi linear sederhana. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada pengaruh yang signifikan antara penggunaan smartphone sebagai media pembelajaran terhadap hasil belajar siswa mata pelajaran IPS di SMPN 21 kota Malang. Dengan begitu dapat disimpulkan bahwa tidak ada pengaruh positif maupun negatif yang ditimbulkan dari penggunaan smartphone sebagai media pembelajaran. ENGLISH: A thing that plays an important role in making it easier for humans to do several things, which makes humans from time to time can develop which comes from science, namely technology. Almost every aspect of everyday life is related to the name of technology, one of the innovations of technology that has mushroomed and is often used by humans today is a smartphone or smart phone. Because smartphones have now become a learning media tool in an educational institution, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, as a user, you still have to be wise in using technology, so that the real purpose of using it as a learning medium can be achieved correctly. Along with its development, smartphones can have an impact or influence on students both positive and negative impacts. Therefore, the use of smartphones as a learning medium can affect student learning outcomes or vice versa. The formulation of the problem in this study is: How the influence of the use of smartphones as a learning medium on the learning outcomes of social studies students at SMPN 21 Malang City. The objectives of the research are: To determine the effect of using smartphones as a learning medium on the learning outcomes of social studies students at SMPN 21 Malang City. This research was conducted at SMPN 21 Malang City, using a quantitative research approach method with the type of Field Research (field research), which is research carried out by going directly into the field. The research sample is class VIII, the sampling method used is purposive sampling. The research instruments used are questionnaires, and data collection techniques to obtain data through the distribution of questionnaires or questionnaires. Data analysis used to determine the effect of independent variables, namely smartphone use on variables tied to student learning outcomes, used simple linear regression techniques. The results showed that there was no significant influence between the use of smartphones as a learning medium on the learning outcomes of social studies students at SMPN 21 Malang. That way it can be concluded that there is no positive or negative influence arising from the use of smartphones as a learning medium. ARABIC: وهو الأمر الذي يلعب دوراً مهماً في تسهيل قيام الإنسان بعدة أشياء، مما يسمح للإن بالتطور مع مرور الوقت، وهو ما ينبع من العلم، ألا وهو التكنولوجيا. يرتبط كل جانب من جوانب الحياة اليومية تقريبًا بالتكنولوجيا، ومن الابتكارات التكنولوجية التي انتشرت بكثرة ويستخدمها الإنسان اليوم غالبًا الهواتف الذكية أو الهواتف الذكية. لأن الهواتف الذكية أصبحت الآن إحدى أدوات الوسائط التعليمية في المؤسسات التعليمية، خاصة منذ جائحة كوفيد-١٩. ومع ذلك، كمستخدم، لا يزال يتعين عليك أن تكون حكيمًا في استخدام التكنولوجيا، حتى يمكن تحقيق الهدف الحقيقي المتمثل في استخدامها كوسيلة للتعلم بشكل صحيح. جنبا إلى جنب مع تطورها، يمكن للهواتف الذكية أن يكون لها تأثير أو تأثير على الطلاب، سواء التأثيرات الإيجابية أو السلبية. ولذلك، فإن استخدام الهواتف الذكية كوسيلة للتعلم يمكن أن يؤثر على نتائج تعلم الطلاب أو العكس. صياغة المشكلة في هذا البحث هي: ما هو تأثير استخدام الهواتف الذكية كوسيلة تعليمية على نتائج تعلم الطلاب في مواد الدراسات الاجتماعية في المدرسة الإعدادية الحكومية ٢١، مدينة مالانج. أهداف البحث هي: تحديد تأثير استخدام الهواتف الذكية كوسيلة تعليمية على نتائج تعلم الطلاب في مواد الدراسات الاجتماعية في المدرسة الإعدادية الحكومية ٢١، مدينة مالانج. تم إجراء هذا البحث في المدرسة الإعدادية الحكومية ٢١، مدينة مالانج، باستخدام طريقة منهج البحث الكمي مع نوع البحث الميداني، أي البحث الذي تم إجراؤه من خلال الذهاب مباشرة إلى الميدان. وكانت عينة البحث من الصف الثامن، وكانت طريقة أخذ العينات المستخدمة هي العينة المقصودة. أداة البحث المستخدمة هي الاستبيان، وأساليب جمع البيانات للحصول على البيانات كانت من خلال توزيع الاستبيانات. تحليل البيانات المستخدمة لتحديد تأثير المتغير المستقل، وهو استخدام الهاتف الذكي، على المتغير التابع على نتائج تعلم الطلاب، استخدم تقنية الانحدار الخطي البسيط. تظهر نتائج البحث أنه لا يوجد تأثير كبير بين استخدام الهواتف الذكية كوسيلة للتعلم على نتائج التعلم للطلاب في مواد الدراسات الاجتماعية في المدرسة الإعدادية الحكومية ٢١، مدينة مالانج. وبهذا يمكن الاستنتاج أنه لا توجد تأثيرات إيجابية أو سلبية ناتجة عن استخدام الهواتف الذكية كوسيلة للتعلم