Assessing the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life for Outcome Measurement in Stroke Rehabilitation: Minimal Detectable Change and Clinically Important Difference

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was conducted to establish the minimal detectable change (MDC) and clinically important differences (CIDs) of the physical category of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale in patients with stroke.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MDC and CIDs scores were calculated from the data of 74 participants enrolled in randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of two rehabilitation programs in patients with stroke. These participants received treatments for 3 weeks and underwent clinical assessment before and after treatment. To obtain test-retest reliability for calculating MDC, another 25 patients with chronic stroke were recruited. The MDC was calculated from the standard error of measurement (SEM) to indicate a real change with 95% confidence for individual patients (MDC₉₅). Distribution-based and anchor-based methods were adopted to triangulate the ranges of minimal CIDs. The percentage of scale width was calculated by dividing the MDC and CIDs by the total score range of each physical category. The percentage of patients exceeding MDC₉₅and minimal CIDs was also reported.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The MDC₉₅of the mobility, self-care, and upper extremity (UE) function subscales were 5.9, 4.0, and 5.3 respectively. The minimal CID ranges for these 3 subscales were 1.5 to 2.4, 1.2 to 1.9, and 1.2 to 1.8. The percentage of patients exceeding MDC₉₅and minimal CIDs of the mobility, self-care, and UE function subscales were 9.5% to 28.4%, 6.8% to 28.4%, and 12.2% to 33.8%, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The change score of an individual patient has to reach 5.9, 4.0, and 5.3 on the 3 subscales to indicate a true change. The mean change scores of a group of patients with stroke on these subscales should reach the lower bound of CID ranges of 1.5 (6.3% scale width), 1.2 (6.0% scale width), and 1.2 (6.0% scale width) to be regarded as clinically important change. This information may facilitate interpretations of patient-reported outcomes after stroke rehabilitation. Future research is warranted to validate these findings.</p

A Flexible-Frame-Rate Vision-Aided Inertial Object Tracking System for Mobile Devices

Real-time object pose estimation and tracking is challenging but essential for emerging augmented reality (AR) applications. In general, state-of-the-art methods address this problem using deep neural networks which indeed yield satisfactory results. Nevertheless, the high computational cost of these methods makes them unsuitable for mobile devices where real-world applications usually take place. In addition, head-mounted displays such as AR glasses require at least 90~FPS to avoid motion sickness, which further complicates the problem. We propose a flexible-frame-rate object pose estimation and tracking system for mobile devices. It is a monocular visual-inertial-based system with a client-server architecture. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) pose propagation is performed on the client side for high speed tracking, and RGB image-based 3D pose estimation is performed on the server side to obtain accurate poses, after which the pose is sent to the client side for visual-inertial fusion, where we propose a bias self-correction mechanism to reduce drift. We also propose a pose inspection algorithm to detect tracking failures and incorrect pose estimation. Connected by high-speed networking, our system supports flexible frame rates up to 120 FPS and guarantees high precision and real-time tracking on low-end devices. Both simulations and real world experiments show that our method achieves accurate and robust object tracking

The Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating Patients with Leukemia

Leukemia is the most common malignancy among all childhood cancers and is associated with a low survival rate in adult patients. Since 1995, the National Health Insurance (NHI) program in Taiwan has been offering insurance coverage for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), along with conventional Western medicine (WM). This study analyzes the status of TCM utilization in Taiwan, in both pediatric and adult patients with leukemia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using population-based National Health Insurance Research Database of Registry of Catastrophic Illness, involving patient data from 2001 to 2010 and follow-up data through 2011. The effectiveness of TCM use was evaluated. Relevant sociodemographic data showed that both pediatric and adult patients who were TCM users one year prior to leukemia diagnosis were more likely to utilize TCM services for cancer therapy. A greater part of medical expenditure of TCM users was lower than that of TCM nonusers, except little discrepancy in drug fee of adult patients. The survival rate is also higher in TCM users. Altogether, these data show that TCM has the potential to serve as an adjuvant therapy when combined with conventional WM in the treatment of patients with leukemia

The rhythmic mind: brain functions of percussionists in improvisation

IntroductionPercussionists stand out for their expertise in rhythm, with the network for musical rhythm (NMR) serving a vital neurological function in their improvisation, which is deeply rooted in comprehensive musical knowledge. Our research examines the central representations of various improvisation tactics used by percussionists and investigates the interactions between the NMR and other relevant neural networks.MethodsTwenty-five percussionists participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions, which included two cognitive strategies of improvisation. Structural improvisation (SIMP) emphasized rhythmic patterns, while free improvisation (FIMP) focused on musical spontaneity. Sight-reading scenario served as the reference condition. Paired t-tests were utilized for comparative analyses.ResultsThe findings revealed a dynamic interplay characterized by increased activity in the executive control network and NMR, along with decreased activity in the default mode network during SIMP. During FIMP, heightened activity was observed in the executive control network, NMR, limbic, and memory systems. In both SIMP vs. sight-reading and FIMP vs. sight-reading comparisons, the visual network’s activity decreased, a trend also observed in the comparative analysis of FIMP vs. SIMP.DiscussionIn SIMP, percussionists leverage external rhythmic signals, resulting in heightened NMR and ECN activity and reduced DMN activity. In contrast, FIMP is characterized by a rise in activity within the NMR, ECN, limbic system, memory system, and reward system, underscoring the vital roles of motivation and memory in the rapid production of spontaneous musical ideas within set frameworks. The diminished activity in the visual network during FIMP compared to SIMP suggests less reliance on visual stimuli in FIMP. These findings suggest that various improvisational tactics may engage different neural pathways

Structural and optical properties of ZnMgO nanostructures formed by Mg in-diffused ZnO nanowires

Abstract ZnMgO nanostructures with wurtzite phase were prepared by thermal diffusion of Mg into the ZnO nanowires. As ZnO light-emitting devices have been operated by using ZnMgO layers as energy barrier layers to confine the carriers, it is essential to realize the characterization of ZnMgO particularly. In this work, the Mg content in Zn 1Àx Mg x O alloy determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) shows a good coincidence. The variation of lattice constant and the blueshift of near-band-edge emission indicate that Zn 2+ ions are successfully substituted by Mg 2+ ions in the ZnO lattice. In Raman-scattering studies, the change of E 2 (high) phonon line shape in ZnO:Mg nanostructures reveals the microscopic substitutional disorder. In addition to the host phonons of ZnO, two additional bands around 383 and 510 cm À1 are presumably attributed to the Mg-related vibrational modes

Potassium {4-[(3S,6S,9S)-3,6-dibenzyl-9-isopropyl-4,7,10-trioxo-11–oxa-2,5,8-triazadodecyl]phenyl}trifluoroborate

[[abstract]]The reported compound 4 was synthesized and fully characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 11B NMR, 19F NMR, and high resolution mass spectrometry.[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]CH

Effects of and satisfaction with short message service reminders for patient medication adherence: a randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence is critical for patient treatment. This study involved evaluating how implementing Short Message Service (SMS) reminders affected patient medication adherence and related factors. METHODS: We used a structured questionnaire to survey outpatients at three medical centers. Patients aged 20 years and older who were prescribed more than 7 days of a prescription medication were randomized into SMS intervention or control groups. The intervention group received daily messages reminding them of aspects regarding taking their medication; the control group received no messages. A phone follow-up was performed to assess outcomes after 8 days. Data were collected from 763 participants in the intervention group and 435 participants in the control group. RESULTS: After participants in the intervention group received SMS reminders to take medication or those in the control group received no messages, incidences of delayed doses were decreased by 46.4 and 78.8% for those in the control and intervention groups, respectively. The rate of missed doses was decreased by 90.1% for participants in the intervention group and 61.1% for those in the control group. We applied logistic regression analysis and determined that participants in the intervention group had a 3.2-fold higher probability of having a decrease in delayed doses compared with participants in the control group. Participants in the intervention group also showed a 2.2-fold higher probability of having a decrease in missed doses compared with participants in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Use of SMS significantly affected the rates of taking medicine on schedule. Therefore, daily SMS could be useful for reminding patients to take their medicine on schedule

Inner sense of rhythm: percussionist brain activity during rhythmic encoding and synchronization

IntroductionThe main objective of this research is to explore the core cognitive mechanisms utilized by exceptionally skilled percussionists as they navigate complex rhythms. Our specific focus is on understanding the dynamic interactions among brain regions, respectively, related to externally directed cognition (EDC), internally directed cognition (IDC), and rhythm processing, defined as the neural correlates of rhythm processing (NCRP).MethodsThe research involved 26 participants each in the percussionist group (PG) and control group (CG), who underwent task-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions focusing on rhythm encoding and synchronization. Comparative analyses were performed between the two groups under each of these conditions.ResultsRhythmic encoding showed decreased activity in EDC areas, specifically in the right calcarine cortex, left middle occipital gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, and left inferior parietal lobule, along with reduced NCRP activity in the left dorsal premotor, right sensorimotor cortex, and left superior parietal lobule. During rhythmic synchronization, there was increased activity in IDC areas, particularly in the default mode network, and in NCRP areas including the left inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral putamen. Conversely, EDC areas like the right dorsolateral prefrontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, and bilateral inferior parietal lobule showed decreased activity, as did NCRP areas including the bilateral dorsal premotor cortex, bilateral ventral insula, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, and left superior parietal lobule.DiscussionPG’s rhythm encoding is characterized by reduced cognitive effort compared to CG, as evidenced by decreased activity in brain regions associated with EDC and the NCRP. Rhythmic synchronization reveals up-regulated IDC, down-regulated EDC involvement, and dynamic interplay among regions with the NCRP, suggesting that PG engages in both automatic and spontaneous processing simultaneously. These findings provide valuable insights into expert performance and present opportunities for improving music education