Characterization of grain boundaries in silicon

Zero-bias conductance and capacitance measurements at various temperatures were used to study trapped charges and potential barrier height at the boundaries. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) was applied to measure the density of states at the boundary. A study of photoconductivity of grain boundaries in p-type silicon demonstrated the applicability of the technique in the measurement of minority carrier recombination velocity at the grain boundary. Enhanced diffusion of phosphorus at grain boundaries in three cast polycrystalline photovoltaic materials was studied. Enhancements for the three were the same, indicating that the properties of boundaries are similar, although grown by different techniques. Grain boundaries capable of enhancing the diffusion were found always to have strong recombination activities; the phenomena could be related to dangling bonds at the boundaries. Evidence that incoherent second-order twins of (111)/(115) type are diffusion-active is presented

Intracortical inhibition is modulated by phase of prosthetic rehabilitation in transtibial amputees

© 2015 Hordacre, Bradnam, Barr, Patritti and Crotty. Reorganization of primary motor cortex (M1) is well-described in long-term lower limb amputees. In contrast cortical reorganization during the rehabilitation period after amputation is poorly understood. Thirteen transtibial amputees and 13 gender matched control participants of similar age were recruited. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to assess corticomotor and intracortical excitability of M1 bilaterally. Neurophysiological assessments were conducted at admission, prosthetic casting, first walk and discharge. Gait variability at discharge was assessed as a functional measure. Compared to controls, amputees had reduced short-latency intracortical inhibition (SICI) for the ipsilateral M1 at admission (p = 0.01). Analysis across rehabilitation revealed SICI was reduced for the contralateral M1 at first walk compared to discharge (p = 0.003). For the ipsilateral M1 both short and long-latency intracortical inhibition were reduced at admission (p < 0.05) and prosthetic casting (p < 0.02). Analysis of the neurophysiology and gait function revealed several interesting relationships. For the contralateral M1, reduced inhibition at admission (p = 0.04) and first walk (p = 0.05) was associated with better gait function. For the ipsilateral M1, reduced inhibition at discharge (p = 0.05) was associated with poor gait function. This study characterized intracortical excitability in rehabilitating amputees. A dichotomous relationship between reduced intracortical inhibition for each M1 and gait function was observed at different times. Intracortical inhibition may be an appropriate cortical biomarker of gait function in lower limb amputees during rehabilitation, but requires further investigation. Understanding M1 intracortical excitability of amputees undertaking prosthetic rehabilitation provides insight into brain reorganization in the sub-acute post-amputation period and may guide future studies seeking to improve rehabilitation outcomes

Video and computer-based interactive exercises are safe and improve task-specific balance in geriatric and neurological rehabilitation: A randomised trial

© 2015. Question: Does adding video/computer-based interactive exercises to inpatient geriatric and neurological rehabilitation improve mobility outcomes? Is it feasible and safe? Design: Randomised trial. Participants: Fifty-eight rehabilitation inpatients. Intervention: Physiotherapist-prescribed, tailored, video/computer-based interactive exercises for 1 hour on weekdays, mainly involving stepping and weight-shifting exercises. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was the Short Physical Performance Battery (0 to 3) at 2 weeks. Secondary outcomes were: Maximal Balance Range (mm); Step Test (step count); Rivermead Mobility Index (0 to 15); activity levels; Activity Measure for Post Acute Care Basic Mobility (18 to 72) and Daily Activity (15 to 60); Falls Efficacy Scale (10 to 40), ED5D utility score (0 to 1); Reintegration to Normal Living Index (0 to 100); System Usability Scale (0 to 100) and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (0 to 126). Safety was determined from adverse events during intervention. Results: At 2 weeks the between-group difference in the primary outcome (0.1, 95% CI -0.2 to 0.3) was not statistically significant. The intervention group performed significantly better than usual care for Maximal Balance Range (38. mm difference after baseline adjustment, 95% CI 6 to 69). Other secondary outcomes were not statistically significant. Fifty-eight (55%) of the eligible patients agreed to participate, 25/29 (86%) completed the intervention and 10 (39%) attended > 70% of sessions, with a mean of 5.6 sessions (SD 3.3) attended and overall average duration of 4.5. hours (SD 3.1). Average scores were 62 (SD 21) for the System Usability Scale and 62 (SD 8) for the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. There were no adverse events. Conclusion: The addition of video/computer-based interactive exercises to usual rehabilitation is a safe and feasible way to increase exercise dose, but is not suitable for all. Adding the exercises to usual rehabilitation resulted in task-specific improvements in balance but not overall mobility. Registration: ACTRN12613000610730

Participatory research approaches to integrating scientific and farmer knowledge of soil to meet multiple objectives in the English East Midlands

Soil management influences food production, economic performance of farm businesses, and a range of public benefits such as water quality, flood control and aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of participatory research in combining scientific and farmer knowledge of soils to meet these multiple objectives. We use five separate research studies involving communication, consultation and co‐production, carried out in the English East Midlands between 2014 and 2018.We compare the participatory processes for knowledge exchange and their material outcomes and assess them retrospectively against specified criteria for successful application of participatory research. We conclude that, depending on context and scalar fit, multiple approaches to participatory research can be complementary, strengthen engagement and build trust within a farming community, resulting in a greater shared understanding of how to address the soil management objectives of farmers and wider society

Bioelectrical phase angle values in a clinical sample of ambulatory rehabilitation patients

Background: Phase angle (PhA) is derived from the resistance and reactance measurements obtained from bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) and is considered indicative of cellular health and membrane integrity. This study measured PhA values of rehabilitation patients and compared them to reference values, measures of functional ability and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels to explore their utility as a clinical tool to monitor disease progression and treatment efficacy. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 215 ambulatory rehabilitation patients aged 20 – 94 years. All participants had been hospitalised for a stroke, orthopaedic or other condition resulting in a functional limitation. PhA was derived from BIA analysis and functional ability characterised using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), timed up and go (TUG) and maximal quadriceps strength (MQS). Serum levels of CRP were also collected. Results: Stroke patients had the highest PhA (5.3°) followed by elective orthopaedic surgery (5.0°) with the other group (4.3°) significantly lower than both previous categories (p < 0.001). Ambulatory rehabilitation patients' PhA values were dependent on age and sex (p < 0.001), lower than published age matched healthy reference values (p ≤ 0.05) and similar to other hospitalised or sick groups, but also higher than values reported in critically ill patients. Patients with CRP values less than 10 mg.L-1 had significantly (p = 0.005) higher mean PhA values. Furthermore, the highest functional status quartiles had significantly higher PhAs (p ≤ 0.04) for the FIM, MQS and TUG measures. Conclusion: The results suggest that the phase angles of rehabilitation patients are between those of healthy individuals and seriously ill patients, thereby supporting claims that PhA is indicative of general health status. Phase angles are a potentially useful indicator of functional status in patients commencing an ambulatory rehabilitation program with a normal hydration status.Simon M. Gunn, Julie A. Halbert, Lynne C. Giles, Jacqueline M. Stepien, Michelle D. Miller and Maria Crott

Promoting Activity in Geriatric Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Accelerometry

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background Low activity levels in inpatient rehabilitation are associated with adverse outcomes. The study aimed to test whether activity levels can be increased by the provision of monitored activity data to patients and clinicians in the context of explicit goal setting. Methods A randomized controlled trial in three sites in Australia included 255 inpatients aged 60 and older who had a rehabilitation goal to become ambulant. The primary outcome was patients’ walking time measured by accelerometers during the rehabilitation admission. Walking times from accelerometry were made available daily to treating therapists and intervention participants to motivate patients to improve incidental activity levels and reach set goals. For the control group, ‘usual care’ was followed, including the setting of mobility goals; however, for this group, neither staff nor patients received data on walking times to aid the setting of daily walking time targets. Results The median daily walking time in the intervention group increased from 10.3 minutes at baseline to 32.1 minutes at day 28, compared with an increase from 9.5 to 26.5 minutes per day in the control group. Subjects in the intervention group had significantly higher non-therapy walking time by about 7 minutes [mean (95% CI): 24.6 (21.7, 27.4)] compared to those in the control group [mean(95% CI): 17.3 (14.4, 20.3)] (p = 0.001). Conclusions Daily feedback to patients and therapists using an accelerometer increased walking times during rehabilitation admissions. The results of this study suggest objective monitoring of activity levels could provide clinicians with information on clinically important, mobility-related activities to assist goal setting. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611000034932 http://www.ANZCTR.org.au

A new type of resistive plate chamber: the multigap RPC

This paper describes the multigap resistive plate chamber (RPC). The goal is to obtain a much improved time resolution, keeping the advantages of the wide gap RPC in comparison with the conventional narrow gap RPC (smaller dynamic range and thus lower charge per avalanche which gives higher rate capability and lower power dissipation in the gas gap)