Effects and Safety of Wearable Exoskeleton for Robot-Assisted Gait Training: A Retrospective Preliminary Study.

Background: Wearable devices for robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) provide overground gait training for the rehabilitation of neurological injuries. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of RAGT in patients with a neurologic deficit.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients receiving more than ten sessions of overground RAGT using a joint-torque-assisting wearable exoskeletal robot were retrospectively analyzed in this study.

Clinical Anatomy of the Puboprostatic Ligament for the Safe Guidance for the Prostate Surgery.

Objective: To provide the anatomy of the puboprostatic ligament and related structures to save urogenital competence after prostatectomy.

Materials And Methods: Pelvic areas of 31 adult cadavers were dissected to figure out the shape, number, and location of the puboprostatic ligaments.

Results: The puboprostatic ligament was the most important support structure between the pubic bone and prostate gland.

Metabolic Changes in Central Poststroke Pain Following Thalamic Intracerebral Hemorrhage: An 18F-FDG PET Study.

Purpose: Central poststroke pain (CPSP) is one of the most refractory neuropathic pains following stroke. Injury in the spinothalamic pathway appears crucial for the development of CPSP, but changes in activity in multiple brain regions may also be related. We investigated brain metabolic changes in patients with CPSP following thalamic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis of depressive mood in patients with isolated cerebellar stroke: A pilot study.

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most common neuropsychological sequela of stroke and occurs in approximately one-third of all stroke survivors. However, there are no well-established predictors of PSD. Depression in stroke patients is correlated with unfavorable outcomes.

Enhanced Performance of Polymer Solar Cells Comprising Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Regular Terpolymer Bearing Two Different π-Extended Donor Units.

New regular and random diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based terpolymers (i.e., Reg-PBDPPT and Ran-PBDPPT, respectively) bearing DPP as an electron deficient unit and 2,2'-bithiophene and (E)-1,2-di(thiophen-2-yl)ethene as electron donating units were designed and synthesized, and their performance in photovoltaic cells was investigated precisely.

Characterization of Human Gingival Fibroblasts on Zirconia Surfaces Containing Niobium Oxide.

It was indicated that tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (TZP) containing yttria (Y₂O₃) and niobium oxide (Nb₂O₅) ((Y,Nb)-TZP) could be an adequate dental material to be used at esthetically important sites. The (Y,Nb)-TZP was also proved to possess its osteogenic potential comparable with those conventional dental implant material, titanium (Ti). The objective of the current study was to characterize cellular response of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) to smooth and rough surfaces of the (Y,Nb)-TZP disc, which were obtained by polishing and sandblasting, respectively.

High-Performing Thin-Film Transistors in Large Spherulites of Conjugated Polymer Formed by Epitaxial Growth on Removable Organic Crystalline Templates.

Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based conjugated polymer PDTDPPQT was synthesized and was used to perform epitaxial polymer crystal growth on removable 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene crystallite templates. A thin-film transistor (TFT) was successfully fabricated in well-grown large spherulites of PDTDPPQT. The charge carrier mobility along the radial direction of the spherulites was measured to be 5.

High aspect ratio conjugated polymer nanowires for high performance field-effect transistors and phototransistors.

We synthesized a highly crystalline DPP-based polymer, DPPBTSPE, which contained 1,2-bis(5-(thiophen-2-yl)selenophen-2-yl)ethene as a planar and rigid electron donating group. High- and low-molecular weight (MW) DPPBTSPE fractions were collected by Soxhlet extraction and were employed to investigate their unique charge transport properties in macroscopic films and single crystalline polymer nanowire (SC-PNW), respectively. The low-MW polymer could provide well-isolated and high aspect ratio SC-PNWs, in which the direction of π-π stacking was perpendicular to the wire growing axis.

Bis(thienothiophenyl) diketopyrrolopyrrole-based conjugated polymers with various branched alkyl side chains and their applications in thin-film transistors and polymer solar cells.

New thienothiophene-flanked diketopyrrolopyrrole and thiophene-containing π-extended conjugated polymers with various branched alkyl side-chains were successfully synthesized. 2-Octyldodecyl, 2-decyltetradecyl, 2-tetradecylhexadecyl, 2-hexadecyloctadecyl, and 2-octadecyldocosyl groups were selected as the side-chain moieties and were anchored to the N-positions of the thienothiophene-flanked diketopyrrolopyrrole unit. All five polymers were found to be soluble owing to the bulkiness of the side chains.

New bipolar host materials for realizing blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes with high efficiency at 1000 cd/m2.

New host molecules such as 9-(6-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridin-3-yl)-6-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (pPCB2CZ) and 9-(6-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridin-2-yl)-6-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (mPCB2CZ) were designed and synthesized for blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs). The glass transition temperatures of two host molecules were measured higher than 120 °C, and the identical triplet energies were determined to be 2.92 eV for both molecules.

Template-guided solution-shearing method for enhanced charge carrier mobility in diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer field-effect transistors.

Template-guided solution-shearing (TGSS) is used to fabricate field-effect transistors (FETs) composed of micropatterned prisms as active channels. The prisms comprise highly crystalline PTDPP-DTTE, in which diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) is flanked by thiophene. The FET has a maximum mobility of approximately 7.

Comparison of the osteogenic potential of titanium- and modified zirconia-based bioceramics.

Zirconia is now favored over titanium for use in dental implant materials because of its superior aesthetic qualities. However, zirconia is susceptible to degradation at lower temperatures. In order to address this issue, we have developed modified zirconia implants that contain tantalum oxide or niobium oxide.

A high-mobility terselenophene and diketopyrrolopyrrole containing copolymer in solution-processed thin film transistors.

A new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based π-conjugated copolymer containing terselenophene units has been successfully synthesized. Its hole mobility reaches around 5.0 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) in thin film transistors made from thermally annealed films.

High-efficiency blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes using a carbazole and carboline-based host material.

A novel bipolar host 9-(4-(9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indol-9-yl)phenyl)-9H-3,9'-bicarbazole (pBCb2Cz) was prepared for high efficiency blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs), a high triplet energy (ET) material, employing electron-deficient α-carboline. pBCb2Cz (ET = 2.93 eV) was effective as a host material for FIrpic- and FCNIrpic-based blue PhOLEDs, and highest quantum efficiencies of 23.

High-performance low-bandgap conjugated polymers bearing diethynylanthracene units for thin-film transistors.

Novel donor-acceptor π-conjugated copolymers, P(DPP-BDT) and P(DPP-ANT), were synthesized in 87-89% yield. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) made from the thermally annealed film of P(DPP-ANT) exhibited much better performance (e.g.

A novel tellurophene-containing conjugated polymer with a dithiophenyl diketopyrrolopyrrole unit for use in organic thin film transistors.

A new tellurophene-based π-conjugated polymer, PDTDPPTe, was synthesized. PDTDPPTe exhibits a smaller optical band gap (E(g)(opt) = 1.25 eV) than thiophene-based PDTDPPT (E(g)(opt) = 1.

Treatment of chronic akinetic mutism with atomoxetine: subtraction analysis of brain f-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomographic images before and after medication: a case report.

Akinetic mutism is a rare, complex neuropathologic disorder. The pharmaceutical treatment of akinetic mutism typically includes dopaminergic agents, but the resulting therapeutic effects are often unsatisfactory, and it remains unclear whether late treatment using these medications is effective. We present a case study of a 53-year-old male patient who developed akinetic mutism for a period of 7 months after a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy: a preliminary study.

Objective: To investigate the changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy.

Methods: We performed serial F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography studies before and after memantine therapy (20 mg per day) on 17 patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment using statistical parametric mapping analysis. In addition, covariance analysis was performed to identify regions, where changes in regional cerebral glucose metabolism correlated significantly with increased Mini-Mental Status Examination scores.

Effects of methylphenidate on cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with impaired consciousness after acquired brain injury.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of methylphenidate on cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with impaired consciousness after acquired brain injury.

Methods: Fourteen patients with impaired consciousness after acquired brain injury were enrolled in our study. We evaluated the level of consciousness with the Glasgow Coma Scale upon initial evaluation and at the 6-week follow-up after methylphenidate medication (0.

The changes of cortical metabolism associated with the clinical response to donepezil therapy in traumatic brain injury.

Objectives: To determine the effects of treatment with donepezil on cortical metabolism in patients with traumatic brain injury using F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

Methods: Twenty-six patients with cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury were enrolled and randomly assigned into the donepezil-treated group and the control group. There was no significant difference between 2 groups in age, sex, education, and postinjury duration.