Visual cue training to improve walking and turning after stroke:a study protocol for a multi-centre, single blind randomised pilot trial

Visual information comprises one of the most salient sources of information used to control walking and the dependence on vision to maintain dynamic stability increases following a stroke. We hypothesize, therefore, that rehabilitation efforts incorporating visual cues may be effective in triggering recovery and adaptability of gait following stroke. This feasibility trial aims to estimate probable recruitment rate, effect size, treatment adherence and response to gait training with visual cues in contrast to conventional overground walking practice following stroke.Methods/design: A 3-arm, parallel group, multi-centre, single blind, randomised control feasibility trial will compare overground visual cue training (O-VCT), treadmill visual cue training (T-VCT), and usual care (UC). Participants (n = 60) will be randomly assigned to one of three treatments by a central randomisation centre using computer generated tables to allocate treatment groups. The research assessor will remain blind to allocation. Treatment, delivered by physiotherapists, will be twice weekly for 8 weeks at participating outpatient hospital sites for the O-VCT or UC and in a University setting for T-VCT participants.Individuals with gait impairment due to stroke, with restricted community ambulation (gait spee

Water in the Earth's mantle: A solid-state NMR study of hydrous wadsleyite

Wadsleyite, β-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4, is the main component of the transition zone in the Earth's mantle, at depths of 410-530 km below the surface. This mineral has received considerable interest as a potential reservoir for the vast amount of hydrogen, as hydro

Magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR linewidths in the presence of solid-state dynamics

In solid-state NMR, the magic angle spinning (MAS) technique fails to suppress anisotropic spin interactions fully if reorientational dynamics are present, resulting in a decay of the rotational-echo train in the time-domain signal. We show that a simple analytical model can be used to quantify this linebroadening effect as a function of the MAS frequency, reorientational rate constant, and magnitude of the inhomogeneous anisotropic broadening. We compare this model with other theoretical approaches and with exact computer simulations, and show how it may be used to estimate rate constants from experimental NMR data

Feedback Device for Improvement of Coordination of Reach-to-Grasp After Stroke

This article was published in the journal, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation [Elsevier / © American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine]. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2011.07.204Objective To describe a novel feedback device (Grasp Rehabilitation Accessory for Stroke Patients [GRASP]) that gives feedback on the time lag between the start of hand opening and the start of transport during reach-to-grasp movements, and to report the results of a preliminary series of single case studies to assess the utility of the device for improving the coordination of arm and hand at the beginning of a reach-to-grasp movement

Three- and Five-Quantum 17O MAS NMR of Forsterite Mg2SiO4

Three- and five-quantum O-17 MAS NMR experiments are used to resolve fully the three crystallo-graphically distinct oxygen species in forsterite (Mg2SiO4). The chemical shift and quadrupolar pa rameters extracted from these spectra are compared with the literature values obtained using conventional O-17 MAS and dynamic-angle-spinning (DAS) NMR.</p

Three- and five- quantum 17O MAS NMR of forsterite Mg2SiO4

Three- and five-quantum 17O MAS NMR experiments are used to resolve fully the three crystallographically distinct oxygen species in forsterite (Mg2SiO4). The chemical shift and quadrupolar parameters extracted from these spectra are compared with the literature values obtained using conventional 17O MAS and dynamic-angle-spinning (DAS) NMR

Motional Broadening: an Important Distinction Between Multiple-Quantum and Satellite-Transition MAS NMR of Quadrupolar Nuclei

Multiple-quantum (MQ) and satellite-transition (ST) magic-angle spinning (MAS) are two very similar techniques used to obtain high-resolution or 'isotropic' NMR spectra of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei. In a variety of materials it is observed that some STMAS peaks are very broad compared with the corresponding MQMAS peaks, sometimes so broad that they are unobservable. We present O-17 (I = 5/2) NMR spectra of two materials, chondrodite (2Mg(2)SiO(4).Mg(OH)(2)) and clinohumite (4Mg(2)SiO(4).Mg(OH)(2)), exhibiting this phenomenon and show that the cause is motional broadening arising from the combined effects of molecular reorientation, the quadrupolar interaction and MAS. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.</p