Bihemispheric motor cortex transcranial direct current stimulation improves force steadiness in post-stroke hemiparetic patients:A randomized crossover controlled trial

Post-stroke patients usually exhibit reduced peak muscular torque (PT) and/or force steadiness during submaximal exercise. Brain stimulation techniques have been proposed to improve neural plasticity and help to restore motor performance in post-stroke patients. The present study compared the effects of bihemispheric motor cortex transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on PT and force steadiness during maximal and submaximal resistance exercise performed by post-stroke patients vs. healthy controls. A double-blind randomized crossover controlled trial (identification number: TCTR20151112001; URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.in.th/) was conducted involving nine healthy and 10 post-stroke hemiparetic individuals who received either tDCS (2 mA) or sham stimulus upon the motor cortex for 20 min. PT and force steadiness (reflected by the coefficient of variation (CV) of muscular torque) were assessed during unilateral knee extension and flexion at maximal and submaximal workloads (1 set of 3 repetitions at 100% PT and 2 sets of 10 repetitions at 50% PT, respectively). No significant change in PT was observed in post-stroke and healthy subjects. Force steadiness during knee extension (~25–35%, P < 0.001) and flexion (~22–33%, P < 0.001) improved after tDCS compared to the sham condition in post-stroke patients, but improved only during knee extension (~13–27%, P < 0.001) in healthy controls. These results suggest that tDCS may improve force steadiness, but not PT in post-stroke hemiparetic patients, which might be relevant in the context of motor rehabilitation programs

Three-dimensional in situ imaging of single-grain growth in polycrystalline In2O3:Zr films

Strain and interactions at grain boundaries during solid-phase crystallization are known to play a significant role in the functional properties of polycrystalline materials. However, elucidating three-dimensional nanoscale grain morphology, kinetics, and strain under realistic conditions is challenging. Here, we image a single-grain growth during the amorphous-to-polycrystalline transition in technologically relevant transparent conductive oxide film of In2O3:Zr with in situ Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging and transmission electron microscopy. We find that the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov theory, which describes the average kinetics of polycrystalline films growth, can be applied to the single grains as well. The quantitative analysis stems directly from imaging results. We elucidate the interface-controlled nature of the single-grain growth in thin films and reveal the surface strains which may be a driving force for anisotropic crystallization rates. Our results bring in situ imaging with coherent X-rays towards understanding and controlling the crystallization processes of transparent conductive oxides and other polycrystalline materials at the nanoscale

Comportamento e conhecimento: fundamentos para prevenção do pé diabético Comportamiento y conocimiento: fundamentos para la prevención del pié diabético Behavior and knowlege: basis for prevention of diabetic foot

OBJETIVO: Identificar o conhecimento e comportamento de pessoas diabéticas em relação aos cuidados com os pés. MÉTODOS: Estudo descritivo e transversal realizado em um centro de pesquisa e extensão universitária do interior paulista, em 2005. Foram entrevistados 55 pacientes diabéticos. Para a obtenção dos dados utilizamos um formulário, dois questionários e exame físico dos pés. RESULTADOS: As pessoas diabéticas não reconhecem a dimensão do risco real com relação aos pés. O conhecimento referido nem sempre se traduz na adoção de ações de autocuidado para a prevenção de problemas relacionados aos pés. Esta realidade aponta para a necessidade de considerarmos as particularidades de cada sujeito e sua interação com o ambiente, para delineamento das intervenções educativas. CONCLUSÕES: É preciso que os profissionais de saúde compreendam que o descompasso entre conhecimento e comportamento dos diabéticos não deve ser interpretado como um obstáculo intransponível, mas como um dos desafios fundamentais que precisam ser enfrentados.<br>OBJETIVO: Identificar el conocimiento y comportamiento de personas diabéticas en relación a los cuidados de los piés. MÉTODOS: Estudio descriptivo y transversal realizado en un centro de investigación y extensión universitaria del interior paulista, en el 2005. Fueron entrevistados 55 pacientes diabéticos. Para la obtención de los datos utilizamos un formulario, dos cuestionarios y examen físico de los piés. RESULTADOS: Las personas diabéticas no reconocen la dimensión del riesgo real en relación a los piés. El conocimiento referido no siempre se traduce en la adopción de acciones de autocuidado para la prevención de problemas relacionados a los piés. Esta realidad apunta hacia la necesidad de considerar las particularidades de cada sujeto y su interacción con el ambiente, para el delineamento de las intervenciones educativas. CONCLUSIONES: Es preciso que los profesionales de salud comprendan que el descompás entre conocimiento y comportamiento de los diabéticos no debe ser interpretado como un obstáculo intransferible, sino como uno de los desafíos fundamentales que precisan ser enfrentados.<br>OBJECTIVE: To describe the knowledge and behaviors of patients with diabetes towards foot care. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at a university research and intervention center in the interior of the state of São Paulo. Data were collected through interviews, two specific questionnaires, and physical examination of the foot in 55 patients in 2005. RESULTS: The participants did not recognize the dimension of the true risks regarding lack of foot care. The participant knowledge of diabetes did not translate into actions to prevent foot problems. These results suggest the need to take into consideration specific individual characteristics and the individual's interactions with the environment in designing educational interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Health care professionals need to understand that discrepancy between knowledge and behaviors of patients with diabetes is not an obstacle impossible to cross, but a challenging issue that needs to be addressed

Fluidic and mechanical thermal control devices

In recent years, intensive studies on thermal control devices have been conducted for the thermal management of electronics and computers as well as for applications in energy conversion, chemistry, sensors, buildings, and outer space. Conventional cooling or heating techniques realized using traditional thermal resistors and capacitors cannot meet the thermal requirements of advanced systems. Therefore, new thermal control devices are being investigated to satisfy these requirements. These devices include thermal diodes, thermal switches, thermal regulators, and thermal transistors, all of which manage heat in a manner analogous to how electronic devices and circuits control electricity. To design or apply these novel devices as well as thermal control principles, this paper presents a systematic and comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art of fluidic and mechanical thermal control devices that have already been implemented in various applications for different size scales and temperature ranges. Operation principles, working parameters, and limitations are discussed and the most important features for a particular device are identified