Therapeutic Potential of Haptic TheraDrive: An Affordable Robot/Computer System for Motivating Stroke Rehabilitation

There is a need for increased opportunities for effective neurorehabilitation services for stroke survivors outside the hospital environment. Efforts to develop low-cost robot/computer therapy solutions able to be deployed in home and community rehabilitation settings have been growing. Our long-term goal is to develop a very low-cost system for stroke rehabilitation that can use commercial gaming technology and support rehabilitation with stroke survivors at all functioning levels. This paper reports the results of experiments comparing the old and new TheraDrive systems in terms of ability to assist/resist subjects and the root-mean-square (RMS) trajectory tracking error. Data demonstrate that the new system, in comparison to the original TheraDrive, produces a larger change in normalized trajectory tracking error when assistance/resistance is added to exercises and has the potential to support stroke survivors at all functioning levels

Many new voters make the Granite State one to watch in November

A third of potential voters in New Hampshire during the fall of 2008 have become eligible to vote in the state. Further, these potential new voters are more likely to identify with the Democratic Party and less likely to identify as Republicans than are established New Hampshire voters, contributing to the state\u27s purple status

More poor kids in more poor places: children increasingly live where poverty persists

More poor kids in more poor places: children increasingly live where poverty persist

Design and Development of an Affordable Haptic Robot with Force-Feedback and Compliant Actuation to Improve Therapy for Patients with Severe Hemiparesis

The study describes the design and development of a single degree-of-freedom haptic robot, Haptic Theradrive, for post-stroke arm rehabilitation for in-home and clinical use. The robot overcomes many of the weaknesses of its predecessor, the TheraDrive system, that used a Logitech steering wheel as the haptic interface for rehabilitation. Although the original TheraDrive system showed success in a pilot study, its wheel was not able to withstand the rigors of use. A new haptic robot was developed that functions as a drop-in replacement for the Logitech wheel. The new robot can apply larger forces in interacting with the patient, thereby extending the functionality of the system to accommodate low-functioning patients. A new software suite offers appreciably more options for tailored and tuned rehabilitation therapies. In addition to describing the design of the hardware and software, the paper presents the results of simulation and experimental case studies examining the system\u27s performance and usability

Repeat-Accumulate Codes for Reconciliation in Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution

This paper investigates the design of low-complexity error correction codes for the verification step in continuous variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) systems. We design new coding schemes based on quasi-cyclic repeat-accumulate codes which demonstrate good performances for CVQKD reconciliation

The Influence of Environmental Factors and Resource Availability on Zostera marina Flowering Intensity

Sexual reproduction and the production of seeds are important for the resilience of all angiosperm species. For clonal species, such as the seagrass Zostera marina, resource allocation is complicated because these species reproduce both asexually and sexually, and the factors contributing to allocation to these two processes remains unknown. The goal of this study was, therefore, to investigate the importance of critical light, nutrient, and rhizome resources on Z. marina sexual reproduction and flowering intensity. To evaluate the importance of sediment nutrients on Z. marina flowering intensity two distinct field manipulative experiments and one field survey were initiated: 1. Sediments within established Z. marina were fertilized during two periods of active growth (spring and fall) at two contrasting (estuarine and coastal lagoon) locations and the subsequent development of flowering was recorded, 2. Rhizome segments were transplanted to adjacent unvegetated environments to investigate the effects of sediment nutrients on individual shoots, 3. Surveys within and between three locations with apparent differences in sediment structure were designed to investigate the relationship between sediment conditions and flowering intensity. Rhizome segments were also transplanted to adjacent unvegetated environments to test the effect of shoot availability (with each segment having one, two, or three shoots) on sexual reproduction. To evaluate the importance of light and rhizome resources to flowering, two experiments and one field survey were also initiated: 1.In situ light availability was reduced using neutral density shading to test if light availability affected flowering intensity, 2. A field survey using fixed piers as shade structures was also used to determine if long-term shading influenced Z. marina flowering, 3. Cutting of rhizome connections of in situ plants was used to test if acute stress to below ground tissue prior to the development of flowering shoots would influence investment in sexual reproduction. The addition of supplemental nutrients to the sediment during the fall growth period increased the number of spathes per flowering shoot the following spring relative to control plots at both estuarine and coastal lagoon locations. Similarly, field surveys across three locations demonstrated a direct relationship between ammonium availability and the percentage of flowering shoots. Although short term in situ shading did not significantly affect flowering intensity, measurements of flowering intensity around piers revealed lower percentages of flowering shoots directly beneath piers than areas one or three meters perpendicular to the pier. Eleven percent of transplants also produced more flowering shoots than the initial shoots planted indicating the development of flowering shoots can occur on shoots less than three months old. Combined, these results indicate resource availability can influence sexual reproduction. Increasing belowground plant and nutrient resources increased investment in both vegetative and sexual reproduction, whereas, long term reductions in light resources were found to only decrease sexual reproduction. This suggests that the duration and magnitude of resource availability are both important in determining the allocation of resources towards sexual reproduction, and through this investment the degree of resiliency in seagrass populations in an increasingly stressed coastal environment

Difficulties in early ice detection with the Small Ice Detector 2 HIAPER (SID-2H) in maritime cumuli

© Copyright 2014 American Meteorological Society (AMS).The Small Ice Detector 2 HIAPER (SID-2H) was used to attempt to detect small ice particles in the early stages of ice formation in the high liquid water environment of tropical maritime cumulus clouds sampled during the Ice in Clouds Experiment - Tropical (ICE-T) field campaign. Its performance in comparison to other probes, and the development of new corrections applied to the data, are presented. The SID-2H detected small ice crystals among larger particles. It correctly identified water drops, and discriminated between round and irregular particle shapes in water-dominated clouds with errors less than 5%. Remaining uncertainties in the sensing volume, and the volume over which coincidence of particles occurred, result in the data being used here in a qualitative manner to identify the presence of ice, its habits and sizes.Peer reviewe