212 research outputs found

    Organisation du savoir et mĂ©diation documentaire : exemple du traitement des pĂ©riodiques d’histoire dans deux bibliothĂšques universitaires

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    La mise en ligne des ressources Ă©lectroniques tend Ă  se multiplier au sein des institutions et de leurs bibliothĂšques et bouleverse Ă  la fois les pratiques professionnelles de traitement de l’information et les usages traditionnels. L’exemple du traitement documentaire des pĂ©riodiques, dans leur forme papier comme dans leur forme numĂ©rique, est intĂ©ressant mĂȘme s’il semble ne pas ĂȘtre uniformisĂ©. En effet les pratiques professionnelles de mise Ă  disposition de ces supports de diffusion d’information spĂ©cifique apparaissent diffĂ©rentes selon les dispositifs observĂ©s. Ici, deux espaces documentaires distincts, la bibliothĂšque de l’Ecole Nationale de Formation Agronomique et la BibliothĂšque d’histoire de Toulouse Le Mirail, ont Ă©tĂ© questionnĂ©s Ă  travers l’analyse de l’offre de pĂ©riodiques d’histoire proposĂ©e aux usagers. Cette premiĂšre Ă©tude a permis d’approcher les pratiques professionnelles des documentalistes, dans leur rĂŽle de mĂ©diation des pĂ©riodiques quel que soit leur format

    Expertise scientifique, histoire et preuve

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    Souvent sollicitĂ©e en vue de conforter une prise de dĂ©cision, la dĂ©marche d’expertise est de plus en plus frĂ©quente. L’expert Ă©tablit un constat Ă  la demande d’un ou plusieurs commanditaires, sans intervenir dans un domaine qui n’est pas le sien. Mais les rĂ©sultats de l’expertise constituent de nouveaux Ă©lĂ©ments qui alimentent Ă  leur tour des dĂ©bats et des controverses scientifiques. FondĂ©e sur deux cas, cette Ă©tude ouvre des pistes de rĂ©flexions sur la complĂ©mentaritĂ© entre les sciences de la vie et l’histoire. Partant des enjeux et des stratĂ©gies qui animent les commanditaires d’une expertise, il s’agit d’examiner le rĂŽle de caution que cette derniĂšre peut apporter aux demandeurs. Les notions de vĂ©ritĂ© scientifique et de preuve absolue sont ainsi abordĂ©es, relativisant l’exploitation et l’interprĂ©tation des rĂ©sultats qui pourraient ĂȘtre faites de l’expertise en question.Calling on expertise seems to be more and more frequent, especially when it comes to reinforce decision-making. The study we undertook -based on two historical cases- aims at tracking comments on the complementarity between life sciences and another discipline. Starting from the stakes and strategies of the partners, we study here the role played by expertise in terms of guarantee. The notions of “scientific evidence” and “absolute truth” are therefore tackled. It allows to relativize the possible exploitation and interpretation of the results. The expert draws up a report and does not interfere in a field which is not his. These new elements sustain scientific debates and controversies

    Repetitive arm functional tasks after stroke (RAFTAS): a pilot randomised controlled trial

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    Background Repetitive functional task practise (RFTP) is a promising treatment to improve upper limb recovery following stroke. We report the findings of a study to determine the feasibility of a multi-centre randomised controlled trial to evaluate this intervention. Methods A pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted. Patients with new reduced upper limb function were recruited within 14 days of acute stroke from three stroke units in North East England. Participants were randomised to receive a four week upper limb RFTP therapy programme consisting of goal setting, independent activity practise, and twice weekly therapy reviews in addition to usual post stroke rehabilitation, or usual post stroke rehabilitation. The recruitment rate; adherence to the RFTP therapy programme; usual post stroke rehabilitation received; attrition rate; data quality; success of outcome assessor blinding; adverse events; and the views of study participants and therapists about the intervention were recorded. Results Fifty five eligible patients were identified, 4-6% of patients screened at each site. Twenty four patients participated in the pilot study. Two of the three study sites met the recruitment target of 1-2 participants per month. The median number of face to face therapy sessions received was 6 [IQR 3-8]. The median number of daily repetitions of activities recorded was 80 [IQR 39-80]. Data about usual post stroke rehabilitation were available for 18/24 (75%). Outcome data were available for 22/24 (92%) at one month and 20/24 (83%) at three months. Outcome assessors were unblinded to participant group allocation for 11/22 (50%) at one month and 6/20 (30%) at three months. Four adverse events were considered serious as they resulted in hospitalisation. None were related to study treatment. Feedback from patients and local NHS therapists about the RFTP programme was mainly positive. Conclusions A multi-centre randomised controlled trial to evaluate an upper limb RFTP therapy programme provided early after stroke is feasible and acceptable to patients and therapists, but there are issues which needed to be addressed when designing a Phase III study. A Phase III study will need to monitor and report not only recruitment and attrition but also adherence to the intervention, usual post stroke rehabilitation received, and outcome assessor blinding

    Home-based therapy programmes for upper limb functional recovery following stroke

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    Background: With an increased focus on home-based stroke services and the undertaking of programmes, targeted at upper limb recovery within clinical practice, a systematic review of home-based therapy programmes for individuals with upper limb impairment following stroke was required. Objectives: To determine the effects of home-based therapy programmes for upper limb recovery in patients with upper limb impairment following stroke. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group's Specialised Trials Register (May 2011), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1950 to May 2011), EMBASE (1980 to May 2011), AMED (1985 to May 2011) and six additional databases. We also searched reference lists and trials registers. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in adults after stroke, where the intervention was a home-based therapy programme targeted at the upper limb, compared with placebo, or no intervention or usual care. Primary outcomes were performance in activities of daily living (ADL) and functional movement of the upper limb. Secondary outcomes were performance in extended ADL and motor impairment of the arm. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently screened abstracts, extracted data and appraised trials. We undertook assessment of risk of bias in terms of method of randomisation and allocation concealment (selection bias), blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias), whether all the randomised patients were accounted for in the analysis (attrition bias) and the presence of selective outcome reporting. Main results: We included four studies with 166 participants. No studies compared the effects of home-based upper limb therapy programmes with placebo or no intervention. Three studies compared the effects of home-based upper limb therapy programmes with usual care. Primary outcomes: we found no statistically significant result for performance of ADL (mean difference (MD) 2.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.43 to 7.14) or functional movement of the upper limb (MD 2.25; 95% CI -0.24 to 4.73)). Secondary outcomes: no statistically significant results for extended ADL (MD 0.83; 95% CI -0.51 to 2.17)) or upper limb motor impairment (MD 1.46; 95% CI -0.58 to 3.51). One study compared the effects of a home-based upper limb programme with the same upper limb programme based in hospital, measuring upper limb motor impairment only; we found no statistically significant difference between groups (MD 0.60; 95% CI -8.94 to 10.14). Authors' conclusions: There is insufficient good quality evidence to make recommendations about the relative effect of home-based therapy programmes compared with placebo, no intervention or usual care

    Adaptive hybrid robotic system for rehabilitation of reaching movement after a brain injury: a usability study

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    BACKGROUND: Brain injury survivors often present upper-limb motor impairment affecting the execution of functional activities such as reaching. A currently active research line seeking to maximize upper-limb motor recovery after a brain injury, deals with the combined use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and mechanical supporting devices, in what has been previously termed hybrid robotic systems. This study evaluates from the technical and clinical perspectives the usability of an integrated hybrid robotic system for the rehabilitation of upper-limb reaching movements after a brain lesion affecting the motor function. METHODS: The presented system is comprised of four main components. The hybrid assistance is given by a passive exoskeleton to support the arm weight against gravity and a functional electrical stimulation device to assist the execution of the reaching task. The feedback error learning (FEL) controller was implemented to adjust the intensity of the electrical stimuli delivered on target muscles according to the performance of the users. This control strategy is based on a proportional-integral-derivative feedback controller and an artificial neural network as the feedforward controller. Two experiments were carried out in this evaluation. First, the technical viability and the performance of the implemented FEL controller was evaluated in healthy subjects (N = 12). Second, a small cohort of patients with a brain injury (N = 4) participated in two experimental session to evaluate the system performance. Also, the overall satisfaction and emotional response of the users after they used the system was assessed. RESULTS: In the experiment with healthy subjects, a significant reduction of the tracking error was found during the execution of reaching movements. In the experiment with patients, a decreasing trend of the error trajectory was found together with an increasing trend in the task performance as the movement was repeated. Brain injury patients expressed a great acceptance in using the system as a rehabilitation tool. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the technical feasibility of using the hybrid robotic system for reaching rehabilitation. Patients’ reports on the received intervention reveal a great satisfaction and acceptance of the hybrid robotic system

    Wristband accelerometers to motivate arm exercise after stroke (WAVES): study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

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    BACKGROUND: Loss of upper limb function affects up to 85 % of acute stroke patients. Recovery of upper limb function requires regular intensive practise of specific upper limb tasks. To enhance intensity of practice interventions are being developed to encourage patients to undertake self-directed exercise practice. Most interventions do not translate well into everyday activities and stroke patients continue to find it difficult remembering integration of upper limb movements into daily activities. A wrist-worn device has been developed that monitors and provides ‘live’ upper limb activity feedback to remind patients to use their stroke arm in daily activities (The CueS wristband). The aim of this trial is to assess the feasibility of a multi-centre, observer blind, pilot randomised controlled trial of the CueS wristband in clinical stroke services. METHODS/DESIGN: This pilot randomised controlled feasibility trial aims to recruit 60 participants over 15 months from North East England. Participants will be within 3 months of stroke which has caused new reduced upper limb function and will still be receiving therapy. Each participant will be randomised to an intervention or control group. Intervention participants will wear a CueS wristband (between 8 am and 8 pm) providing “live” feedback towards pre-set movement goals through a simple visual display and vibration prompts whilst undertaking a 4-week upper limb therapy programme (reviewed twice weekly by an occupational/physiotherapist). Control participants will also complete the 4-week upper limb therapy programme but will wear a ‘sham’ CueS wristband that monitors upper limb activity but provides no feedback. Outcomes will determine study feasibility in terms of recruitment, retention, adverse events, adherence and collection of descriptive clinical and accelerometer motor performance data at baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks. DISCUSSION: The WAVES study will address an important gap in the evidence base by reporting the feasibility of undertaking an evaluation of emerging and affordable technology to encourage impaired upper limb activity after stroke. The study will establish whether the study protocol can be supported by clinical stroke services, thereby informing the design of a future multi-centre randomised controlled trial of clinical and cost-effectiveness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN:82306027. Registered 12 July 2016. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1628-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

    Applying a brain-computer interface to support motor imagery practice in people with stroke for upper limb recovery: A feasibility study

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is now sufficient evidence that using a rehabilitation protocol involving motor imagery (MI) practice in conjunction with physical practice (PP) of goal-directed rehabilitation tasks leads to enhanced functional recovery of paralyzed limbs among stroke sufferers. It is however difficult to confirm patient engagement during an MI in the absence of any on-line measure. Fortunately an EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) can provide an on-line measure of MI activity as a neurofeedback for the BCI user to help him/her focus better on the MI task. However initial performance of novice BCI users may be quite moderate and may cause frustration. This paper reports a pilot study in which a BCI system is used to provide a computer game-based neurofeedback to stroke participants during the MI part of a protocol.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The participants included five chronic hemiplegic stroke sufferers. Participants received up to twelve 30-minute MI practice sessions (in conjunction with PP sessions of the same duration) on 2 days a week for 6 weeks. The BCI neurofeedback performance was evaluated based on the MI task classification accuracy (CA) rate. A set of outcome measures including action research arm test (ARAT) and grip strength (GS), was made use of in assessing the upper limb functional recovery. In addition, since stroke sufferers often experience physical tiredness, which may influence the protocol effectiveness, their fatigue and mood levels were assessed regularly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Positive improvement in at least one of the outcome measures was observed in all the participants, while improvements approached a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the ARAT. The on-line CA of MI induced sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) modulation patterns in the form of lateralized event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) effects, for novice participants was in a moderate range of 60-75% within the limited 12 training sessions. The ERD/ERS change from the first to the last session was statistically significant for only two participants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall the crucial observation is that the moderate BCI classification performance did not impede the positive rehabilitation trends as quantified with the rehabilitation outcome measures adopted in this study. Therefore it can be concluded that the BCI supported MI is a feasible intervention as part of a post-stroke rehabilitation protocol combining both PP and MI practice of rehabilitation tasks. Although these findings are promising, the scope of the final conclusions is limited by the small sample size and the lack of a control group.</p

    Functional Strength Training and Movement Performance Therapy for upper limb recovery early post-stroke – efficacy, neural correlates, predictive markers and cost-effectiveness: FAST-INdiCATE trial

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    BackgroundVariation in physiological deficits underlying upper limb paresis after stroke could influence how people recover and to which physical therapy they best respond.ObjectivesTo determine whether functional strength training (FST) improves upper limb recovery more than movement performance therapy (MPT). To identify: (a) neural correlates of response and (b) whether pre-intervention neural characteristics predict response.DesignExplanatory investigations within a randomised, controlled, observer-blind, and multicentre trial. Randomisation was computer-generated and concealed by an independent facility until baseline measures were completed. Primary time point was outcome, after the 6-week intervention phase. Follow-up was at 6 months after stroke.ParticipantsWith some voluntary muscle contraction in the paretic upper limb, not full dexterity, when recruited up to 60 days after an anterior cerebral circulation territory stroke.InterventionsConventional physical therapy (CPT) plus either MPT or FST for up to 90 min-a-day, 5 days-a-week for 6 weeks. FST was “hands-off” progressive resistive exercise cemented into functional task training. MPT was “hands-on” sensory/facilitation techniques for smooth and accurate movement.OutcomesThe primary efficacy measure was the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Neural measures: fractional anisotropy (FA) corpus callosum midline; asymmetry of corticospinal tracts FA; and resting motor threshold (RMT) of motor-evoked potentials.AnalysisCovariance models tested ARAT change from baseline. At outcome: correlation coefficients assessed relationship between change in ARAT and neural measures; an interaction term assessed whether baseline neural characteristics predicted response.Results288 Participants had: mean age of 72.2 (SD 12.5) years and mean ARAT 25.5 (18.2). For 240 participants with ARAT at baseline and outcome the mean change was 9.70 (11.72) for FST + CPT and 7.90 (9.18) for MPT + CPT, which did not differ statistically (p = 0.298). Correlations between ARAT change scores and baseline neural values were between 0.199, p = 0.320 for MPT + CPT RMT (n = 27) and −0.147, p = 0.385 for asymmetry of corticospinal tracts FA (n = 37). Interaction effects between neural values and ARAT change between baseline and outcome were not statistically significant.ConclusionsThere was no significant difference in upper limb improvement between FST and MPT. Baseline neural measures did not correlate with upper limb recovery or predict therapy response.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials: ISRCT 19090862, http://www.controlled-trials.co
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