Robotic Resistance Treadmill Training Improves Locomotor Function in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Objective To determine whether applying controlled resistance forces to the legs during the swing phase of gait may improve the efficacy of treadmill training as compared with applying controlled assistance forces in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Design Randomized controlled study. Setting Research unit of a rehabilitation hospital. Participants Children with spastic CP (N=23; mean age, 10.6y; range, 6–14y; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels, I–IV). Interventions Participants were randomly assigned to receive controlled assistance (n=11) or resistance (n=12) loads applied to the legs at the ankle. Participants underwent robotic treadmill training 3 times a week for 6 weeks (18 sessions). A controlled swing assistance/resistance load was applied to both legs starting from the toe-off to mid-swing phase of gait during training. Main Outcome Measures Outcome measures consisted of overground walking speed, 6-minute walk distance, and Gross Motor Function Measure scores and were assessed pre and post 6 weeks of training and 8 weeks after the end of training. Results After 6 weeks of treadmill training in participants from the resistance training group, fast walking speed and 6-minute walk distance significantly improved (18% and 30% increases, respectively), and 6-minute walk distance was still significantly greater than that at baseline (35% increase) 8 weeks after the end of training. In contrast, overground gait speed and 6-minute walk distance had no significant changes after robotic assistance training. Conclusions The results of the present study indicated that robotic resistance treadmill training is more effective than assistance training in improving locomotor function in children with CP

On Holographic Dual of the Dyonic Reissner-Nordstr\"om Black Hole

It is shown that the hidden conformal symmetry, namely $SO(2,2) \sim SL(2,R)_L \times SL(2,R)_R$ symmetry, of the non-extremal dyonic Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole can be probed by a charged massless scalar field at low frequencies. The existence of such hidden conformal symmetry suggests that the field theory holographically dual to the 4D Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole indeed should be a 2D CFT. Although the associated AdS$_3$ structure does not explicitly appear in the near horizon geometry, the primary parameters of the dual CFT$_2$ can be exactly obtained without the necessity of embedding the 4D Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole into 5D spacetime. The duality is further supported by comparing the absorption cross sections and real-time correlators obtained from both the CFT and the gravity sides.Comment: 18 pages, no figure, typos correcte

Twofold Hidden Conformal Symmetries of the Kerr-Newman Black Hole

In this paper, we suggest that there are two different individual 2D CFTs holographically dual to the Kerr-Newman black hole, coming from the corresponding two possible limits --- the Kerr/CFT and Reissner-Nordstr\"om/CFT correspondences, namely there exist the Kerr-Newman/CFTs dualities. A probe scalar field at low frequencies turns out can exhibit two different 2D conformal symmetries (named by $J$- and $Q$-pictures, respectively) in its equation of motion when the associated parameters are suitably specified. These twofold dualities are supported by the matchings of entropies, absorption cross sections and real time correlators computed from both the gravity and the CFT sides. Our results lead to a fascinating "microscopic no hair conjecture" --- for each macroscopic hair parameter, in additional to the mass of a black hole in the Einstein-Maxwell theory, there should exist an associated holographic CFT$_2$ description.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, typos correcte

The Reversed q-Exponential Functional Relation

After obtaining some useful identities, we prove an additional functional relation for $q$ exponentials with reversed order of multiplication, as well as the well known direct one in a completely rigorous manner.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, no figure

A Massive Protostar Embedded in the Scuba Core JCMT 18354-0649S

We report the discovery of an extremely red object embedded in the massive SCUBA core JCMT 18354-0649S. This object is not associated with any known radio or far-IR source, though it appears in Spitzer IRAC data obtained as part of the GLIMPSE survey. At shorter wavelengths, this embedded source exhibits an extreme color, K – L' = 6.7. At an assumed distance of 5.7 kpc, this source has a near-IR luminosity of ~1000 L_☉. Its spectral energy distribution (SED) rises sharply from 2.1 μm to 8 μm, similar to that of a Class 0 young stellar object. Theoretical modeling of the SED indicates that the central star has a mass of 6-12 M_☉, with an optical extinction of more than 30. As both inflow and outflow motions are present in JCMT 18354-0649S, we suggest that this deeply embedded source is (1) a massive protostar in the early stages of accretion, and (2) the driving source of a massive molecular outflow evident in HCN J = 3-2 profiles observed toward this region